


Artistic Focus

by SirTeateiMoonlight



Series: The Passionate Soul [5]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Alcohol, Gen, Incidental Anatomy, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Xenoblade Chronicles Spoilers, two or three British profanities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 18:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 160,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8068675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirTeateiMoonlight/pseuds/SirTeateiMoonlight
Summary: It was when Melia picked up an ether staff for the first time that she knew something special was in store - kicking off twenty-three years of tutelage, practice, and mastery.





	1. Bolt, Flare, and Discharge

_Melia woke with a start. Something was wrong. Her chambers looked the same as usual, with a clear early-morning sky outside, but she could feel something critically wrong with the world._

_Slowly sitting up, her head felt unusually light, like a far more extreme version of the sensation of having a haircut. It did not take long for her hands to investigate the cause._

_Her wings were gone._

_Stumbling out of bed, Melia dashed to the mirror next to the wardrobe. Her reflection looked as frightening as she felt - not only were her wings missing, but her hair was brown and her eyes lacked the distinctive ring through the iris. All traces of her High Entian heritage had vanished._

_The world was suddenly shrouded in mist._

Melia woke up for real. It was still dark out, with the clock showing about two-thirty. She reached up to brush her feathers and sighed in relief before turning her attention upward.

Her dreamcatcher spun far overhead in the bed's canopy, glowing with a dim light. While it had interrupted the recurring nightmare before it reached the truly scary part, this was the third night in a row that a bad dream had slipped through, an indicator that the focal gem needed to be upgraded to keep up with her age. Melia winced at the thought of trying to convince the treasurer to provide her with a rank VI Earth Gem for such purpose; many thought that Melia was relying on the dreamcatcher too much and should be learning to tolerate nightmares like other adolescents.

Still, it would be her 65th birthday in the morning. It was not one to be celebrated, but perhaps she might get lucky.

* * *

Even though it was not a celebratory birthday, Melia felt that the day was unusually pampered towards her. She was not told how to dress for the day, she got exactly what she wanted for breakfast, and her entire morning was scheduled as free time, which she spent idly wandering around the palace while drawing in a sketchbook. She even got the rank VI gem she wanted for her dreamcatcher, the treasurer handing it over without much of a second thought, and had it installed by the imperial handyman within minutes. But by the time lunch rolled around and she was again offered exactly what she wanted, her bemused pleasure quickly morphed into suspicion.

 _Something is not right about all this,_ she thought as she ate. _Today is a day like any other, yet I am finding exceptionally good fortune and not a hint of argument in everything I do. Something must be planned for me for later today, something that they don't think I'll like._

Melia's suspicious attitude led her to retreat to her chambers after lunch, with yet again nothing scheduled for her. She continued drawing in her sketchbook, expecting someone to drag her into something any moment, while the weather outside steadily grew darker and stormier.

At five minutes to two, there was a knock on the door, followed by a letter being slipped through the mail slot. Melia slipped her sketchbook into the desk drawer and stood up, expecting the letter to read something akin to "go here and do this", something her father or aunt sometimes did when they were too busy to personally relay instructions that they did not entrust others to know. Her guess was quickly confirmed upon breaking the seal and reading Aunt Entirmina's script: she was to go to a particular training room that she had previously been forbidden to enter for "a surprise".

Melia felt a mixture of anticipation and reluctance as she walked towards the indicated room. It was often at least somewhat exciting to discover new rooms in the palace, but given how pleasant everyone had been to her for the day so far, she expected to be drawn into something unwanted. Using the letter to ward off the guard blocking her access to the room, she stepped inside.

She found herself in a small room with seven people she didn't know, all seated in a total of ten somewhat haphazardly-arranged chairs. The far wall was made of glass and seemed to open into a larger room beyond, but it was difficult to tell, as upon her entrance everyone stood up and blocked her view.

"Well met, princess Melia." The tallest of them was clad in orange and had a serious air to him. "I am sub-commander Klord of the 8th regiment. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Sub-commander." Unsure of what was going on, Melia simply nodded in acknowledgement and took a seat.

"If you don't mind, I will get straight to it." Klord remained upright as the other all sat back down. "Today is the first day of your combat training."

The phrase "combat training" activated a host of emotions in Melia's mind. For the longest time, she had been desperate to learn how to fight. However, she could never articulate why, and deep down she knew that her physical frailness was a massive setback to any sort of success in battle.

Klord continued. "Now, as you may know, official combat training for heirs to the throne typically begins at age 70. However, Empress Entirmina has requsted that you begin ahead of schedule, so here we are. Now, please meet the instructors."

Melia tore herself away from her personal thoughts to pay attention to the other six High Entians - three robed in blue, the other three in green. They began introducing themselves.

The three in blue were instructors of various weapon types, the ones who would be doing the brunt of the teaching. Arkus the swordsman was the shortest and stoutest, though he still towered over Melia's short frame. Uhurel the markswoman was thin and spritely, showing great enthusiasm. Reddel the ethermaster was an older man of average build and impressive moustache.

The three in green on the other hand were the evaluators, who would be administering monthly assessments of competence. Helet the swordswoman was surprisingly buff with a perpetual frown. Perdus the marksman had an impressive beard and a jolly disposition. Keldon the ethermaster had a face of no nonsense and a somewhat impersonal attitude.

With everyone introduced, Klord proceeded. "Now, you might be thinking that you couldn't possibly learn all these different types of combat all at once. Am I right?"

Still trying to digest everyone's names, Melia nodded, partly because it was the expected answer and partly because it was the truth.

Klord nodded back. "Well, that's where today comes in. Today, you get to choose which path you want to take."

Melia pondered the statement. Even the few times she had dreamed of learning combat, she had expected to be given a weapon and no choice in the matter. As a result she had never before considered what her preference could be.

"In the training room below," continued Klord, "we have assembled a variety of weapons for you to try. The goal of today is for you to select which one suits you the best." He directed her to a door on the left wall. "Please head down these stairs into the training room. We will remain up here to watch your progress."

"...Acknowledged." Melia slowly got to her feet, opened the door, and started descending the long staircase within.

The right wall of the staircase was made of the same glass as the back wall of the small room. With no one else in the way, Melia could see that there was indeed a larger room beyond - much larger, and filled with all kinds of training supplies. Dummies, targets, mats, and even some weightlifting equipment.

Melia reached the bottom of the staircase and entered the training room through another door. Turning around, all the glass walls appeared to be just as opaque as all the other walls, with no hint that an observation room existed. _One-way windows for optimal spying_ _,_ she thought. _Or perhaps for safely seeing what's going on before entering._

She wandered towards a large table set up not far from the entrance, which she suspected was as close to the observation room as possible without having to look down too much. The table was covered in a variety of weapons, though most with the highly-dangerous bits removed or substituted. Each weapon had a short page sitting nearby, with two or three lines of instructions each, even though the vast majority of them were self-evident.

Melia didn't really know what to do. Having expected to be told what to use, being given a gamut of options and told to make a choice with only an initial impression was somewhat unnerving. She figured she might as well start from one end and try and find something that felt right.

The leftmost item on the table was a full-sized sword with dulled edges. Melia grasped the handle with both hands and strained with all her might, slowly lifting it off the table into an upright position, but quickly let it clatter back down onto the table. _Maybe I could lift this in another fifty years, but that's no good to me right now._

Beside the sword was a traditional High Entian rapier, made of wood instead of metal. Melia picked it up and gave it some trial swings. It was slightly oversized but didn't feel too bad. She turned towards a nearby training dummy, a humanoid figure made of straw, and started taking some swipes and stabs at it. _This feels satisfactory, if a little...bland._

Putting the rapier down, she turned to the third weapon, a pair of dulled daggers. Their small size fit her quite well, but after a test slash cut off a bit of straw that flew into her face, she realized something. _These feel quite natural, but require me to get very close to the enemy. I don't think father would approve of me being unable to fight without putting myself in danger. In addition, all these close-range weapons primarily require strength to function._

Deciding that she would be no good at close-range fighting, Melia skipped the rest of the melee weapons - a whip, a gunlance, a pair of clawed gauntlets, and a hammer - and took up the bow. She had dreamed of becoming an archer back in her thirties, back when she childishly thought she could get someone to take her place as princess. But it quickly became clear that archery was not the slam dunk she had envisioned it to be. She found it quite difficult to pull back the bow far enough for the arrows to fly an appreciable distance while still having them land reasonably near where she was aiming. While she kept trying for several shots, she eventually had to give up and admit that it was a poor fit.

Putting down the bow, Melia picked up the boomerang. Giving the weapon a toss, it wobbled through the air and completed about three quarters of a circle before falling to the ground. Trying again and throwing it harder, it successfully made a full circle, but subsequently bashed into her fingers while trying to catch it. _And then what do you do if the enemy grabs it?_ she pondered. _It leaves you defenseless. No, too risky._

Next in line was an ether revolver. Ether firearms were quite rare amongst High Entia, so she did not have much knowledge of them, but "put bullets in gun, fire gun" was simple enough to understand. The ammunition provided was a set of blanks that fired glowing streaks of ether, making it easy to track aim while dealing no damage. Succeeding at a stylish twirling draw, Melia aimed for the torso of a faraway dummy and fired her first shot about ten centimetres above its head. Each subsequent shot inched closer to the target, with the sixth and final shot nailing the dummy right in the heart.

Shaking the coloured smoke off the barrel, Melia considered the other ether firearms available - a pistol, a rifle, and a shotgun. The pistol had a high rate of fire but was more difficult to aim as a result. The rifle was the exact opposite, with perfect accuracy and a long interval between shots, in addition to the largest and least convenient frame. The shotgun fired a mess of ether streaks in every direction, implying it was more suited for close-range devastation than long-range strikes. All things considered, Melia preferred the revolver for its combination of accuracy and size. She took a moment to imagine herself with a gun in each hand, firing well-placed shots into high-value targets in a tense battle. She enjoyed the mental image of a dual-wielding quick-draw crown princess.

Of course, there was still a few more weapons to try. Next in line was an ether bazooka, which she recognized as being colloquially called "the trombone". She didn't feel particularily interested in devoting her training to the bulky weapon, but could not resist carting it onto her shoulders and pulling the trigger just once, launching herself onto her rear and firing a blast of light that bounced off the far wall before fading. The second-last option was an ether wand, a small handheld stick that fired jets of light on command. Melia liked the mental-only aspect of the wand, requiring no physical strength or ammunition, but felt that its small size and lack of structure made it harder to aim than necessary.

The last weapon, on the far right of the table, was an ether staff. It was far simpler in design than most, with a plain handle and a squared diamond for its head, laced with a web of laminated string. Melia took it and extended it to its full length to find it was taller than she was, but also quickly found out that she could adjust its length to better fit her size. She'd seen this kind of staff in use before, and tried mimicking the kinds of motions those practioners had used. Nothing happened. She tried willing the staff to fire a blast of light, like the ether wand. Still nothing.

Not willing to drop the staff without accomplishing something with it, she resigned herself into actually reading the instructions. _Focus on an element to summon an elemental, then fire it at your enemies._

 _Seems simple enough,_ she thought. _But what element does it_ "AAAH!"

Melia's thought was interrupted by a clap of thunder. She knew it was getting stormy outside but was not prepared for the noise. After a few seconds of calming back down, she got an idea. Trying hard to focus her mind on the lightning-laced sky outside, she raised the staff into the air.

After a few seconds, she started getting a tingly feeling in her fingers clutching the staff. Grabbing it with both hands, she concentrated harder. She felt her hair and feathers trying to stand on end and closed her eyes.

After several more seconds of intense concentration and static buildup, Melia felt a release of energy. Looking up at the top of the staff, she saw a ball of lightning lodged in the web at the tip, like a ball in a lacrosse stick.

Melia aimed towards the distant target she had shot at earlier and swung the staff vertically, launching the electric ball like a catapult. It flew in a perfectly straight line and slammed into the target's chest, detonating in a blast of electric energy. At this point she was torn between the staff and the revolver - the gun was quite satisfying to use, but she already had better accuracy with the staff.

She tried again. Concentrating on the thunderstorm outside, she brought forth a second bolt. It was quite a taxing process to summon an elemental, but it was trivial to subsequently fling it at her target, and it felt like aiming required no effort whatsoever.

The third elemental came easier than the first two. Wondering how far she could fling it, she took aim at one of the bullseyes hanging from the ceiling and let loose. The bolt flew through the air and struck dead centre, knocking the target down.

Melia was pretty much decided now. With no strength required, unlimited ammo, and what seemed like naturally perfect aim, the staff would be her weapon of choice. She wondered what else could be done with it.

Casting her mind across the other five classical elements, she selected fire as a decent candidate for a second offensive elemental, and started focusing her mind on the roaring fires of the kitchens. The staff slowly grew hot beneath her fingers. After what seemed like half a minute, a ball of fire finally appeared in the web of the staff.

Excitedness taking over, Melia decided to see what she could get away with in terms of style. Selecting a faraway target, she placed both her hands at the bottom of the staff and swung it like a golf club, launching the fiery orb with a wicked slice. It scored a direct hit on the target, exploding in a huge fireball that set several of the surrounding objects on fire.

Within seconds, the fire suppression system activated, drenching everything in the room.

Melia sheepishly placed the staff back on the table and started slogging through the water towards the exit. She hated getting wet while clothed. Half-heartedly shaking herself off while climbing the stairs, she expected to be told off and sent to her room, before remembering that her aunt and parents were not present to do so. Reaching the top of the staircase, she pushed open the door and walked into applause.

"Bravo, Melia!" Klord was the first to congratulate her. "Your natural proficiency with ranged weaponry is impressive, and it is clear that the ether staff is your weapon of choice." The others present each chimed in to agree.

"Thank you." Melia didn't feel like saying much else.

"Starting next week, you will report back to this room every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at two o'clock for your training with Reddel." Klord motioned towards the door. "You may go now."

Melia didn't particularily care that Klord should probably be more respectful towards royalty. As of that very moment, she just wanted out so she could change into dry clothes. As a result, she simply nodded and quickly left the room - and immediately crashed into her brother Kallian, who was waiting outside.

"Well, you've been busy!" Kallian brushed the dampness off his own clothes. "How did it go? I must report to the Empress, of course..."

Melia did not feel the need to go into detail. "I have selected the ether staff to be trained on."

Kallian nodded. "A wise choice. Father will be pleased that you did not simply take the easy route and follow in my footsteps. Have a good day, sister." He walked off in the direction of the throne room.

Melia paused for a moment before continuing towards her own room. She certainly didn't think that taking up the rapier like Kallian had would be "easy", even if he would somehow be allowed to help teach her.

Arriving at her chambers, Melia started fishing through her wardrobe for clothes that resembled her currently sodden ones as much as possible. She had trouble getting the "gunslinger princess" fantasy out of her head, but it was starting to be overwritten by the image of her cavorting around a battlefield, throwing balls of fire and lightning like a deadly dance, frustrating the enemy as much as injuring them, letting others protect her from harm while attacking from a distance.


	2. Burst End

Melia stood outside the door of the training room, breathing deeply, mentally preparing herself for what she thought was going to happen. The instant the clock tower chimed two, she walked inside.

Reddel was waiting for her in the observation room, sitting in a chair alongside his staff.

"Ah, Melia! Excellent timing." He stood up, his moustache twitching with a life of its own. "Come, let us head inside."

Melia followed him down the stairs wordlessly. Upon entering the training room proper, she saw a pair of staffs perched against the wall. She recognized one of them as the one she had tried out several days ago, while the other featured an empty circle at the top and was painted a vibrant orange.

"First things first." Reddel held up the first staff, his face growing serious. "This is a Training Staff. You will be using this staff for practice, both alongside me and on your own. It is not to be removed from this room for any reason. Don't try to sneak it out, as its diamond design is strongly distinctive and will be recognized by anyone immediately. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"Good." Reddel's face cracked into a wide smile. "Don't worry, that's really the only hard rule I have for you. Ether is a flowing, living force. If I put you under an iron fist all the time, you'd never learn a thing about it. Now then." He indicated the other staff. "This is a Practice Staff, and it's yours to keep. You can use it whenever you want, wherever you want, because it can't actually produce elementals. It gives you tactile feedback, so you can tell you're doing it right, it just doesn't make anything happen. Its orange colour and empty design make its nature clear to everyone. Got it?"

Melia was not prepared to reflect Reddel's informal mannerisms. "Yes."

"Okay then. Now, everyone does training their own way, and here's mine. You come down here three days a week and put in an hour of practice. I'll be here, but unless you ask for help or I think you're having a bad time, I'll just be observing. Once I think you're ready, I'll teach you something new. But for now, we'll stick with what you know." He pointed to one of the targets on the ceiling, labelled with an 8. "Let's see you hit target 8 with a summoned bolt."

Melia took up the Training Staff and started concentrating on the element of lightning. With no practice since her first attempt and no active thunderstorm to inspire her, it took a whole twenty-five seconds to successfully generate the ball of electricity. It then took no time at all for her to affix her gaze on the target and side-swipe the staff at it, launching the elemental towards it for a perfect strike.

"Very good." Reddel nodded. "Many first-timers can take an entire minute to summon an elemental. As you can guess, it simply takes practice to speed up the process." He demonstrated by producing a bolt of his own in the span of one second, which he subsequently dispelled without attacking. "Now, let's see you hit target 3 with a flare. Don't worry about the sprinklers, I have disabled the ones in this half of the room, and ordered some fireproof targets."

Having only succeeded once before, it took a full forty seconds for Melia to summon the fiery sphere, which she lobbed without trouble towards the designated target. This time, the detonation did not cause anything to be set alight.

"Excellent. Incidentally, your aim is impeccable. Some of my previous students have had trouble aiming their shots, which is not easy to fix."

Reddel continued ordering specific elements at specific targets, and eventually let Melia choose her own. Melia hit every one without fail, the only obstacle being her expectedly slow summoning time. She improved during the session to an average of fifteen seconds, though Reddel said this would go back down after time spent not summoning until enough practice was built up.

As the hour continued, Melia felt each launched elemental boosting something inside her. She mostly paid it no heed until it became too strong for her to ignore.

"...Mr. Reddel? I am feeling a...a pressure in my body." She didn't know how else to describe it. It wasn't currently unpleasant, but it did feel similar to pressure rising in a sealed vessel.

Reddel's eyebrows went up. "Are you now? Well then, you seem to be progressing quite quickly. Please keep at it."

Melia didn't know what to make of this comment. Was this sensation expected of an ether user? Somewhat disturbed, she resumed casting elements at targets, each one building the feeling up more. But after only a few more shots, she stopped again, leaving a bolt hanging on her staff.

"I...I...I do not feel I should continue." She felt quite bloated, and was unwilling to make any sudden movements. "I...I feel like I may...rupture something."

"Keep going." Reddel's tone was both firm and soothing. "What you are feeling is a critical part of the process. It is completely safe."

Becoming slightly dizzy, Melia closed her eyes for a few seconds before looking at the next target. Using the bare minimum of arm motion, she sent her active bolt towards the target, travelling slowly but eventually hitting its mark. The pressure inside her built even further.

"Yes! One more should do it! Discharge with authority, it will be more effective overall!"

Melia reluctantly began to focus on summoning a flare. Her nausea was building quickly, disrupting her concentration and doubling her time. Selecting a target at random, she gave her staff a strong swing in its general direction, expecting to vomit any moment.

As the flare soared through the air and struck the target, Melia could feel the sensation reach its breaking point. She covered her ears, expecting a loud noise for some reason. Instead, she felt the bloating inside herself burst, unleashing a vividly multicoloured aura all over her body. She stood up straight for the first time in several minutes. She felt great - no, _wonderful - no, INVINCIBLE_.

"Perfect!" Reddel backed off. "A splendid first burst aura! Now, focus the energy through your staff!"

Melia heard the instructions as if from a great distance. Twirling her staff around, she jabbed it into the air and did as she was told, releasing a golden sphere of light in all directions. The blast drained all the built-up power from her body, bringing her senses back down to earth. She felt both liberated and exhausted.

"Astounding!" Reddel clapped his hands together. "My word, you're a natural if I've ever seen one. Absolutely flawless Burst End execution on the first try! Too weak to have any effect, but regardless, none of my former students could lay claim to that."

Quite unused to receiving this level of praise, Melia did not react. She was more interested in trying to recreate the aura and maintain its feeling of unlimited power for more than a single attack - and figure out how to do so without the bloated feeling beforehand.

"I can see it in your eyes," continued Reddel. "You want to learn more about what has just occurred, don't you?" Receiving a nod in reply, he began the explanation. "Discharging elementals produces a buildup of ether energy within yourself. Once this energy reaches critical mass, it ignites into a burst aura. With a burst aura active, not only are subsequent elementals much more powerful, but it unlocks the potential of an art known as Burst End. The effects of Burst End vary between users, and you are not yet practiced enough for these effects to become noticeable, so we will have to wait to see what exactly it does."

Melia thought about how the Practice Staff would not create elementals, and so would not allow her to practice Burst End outside her training sessions. "...How do I practice Burst End if I must build up a burst aura in order to use it?"

Reddel shook his head. "There's no way to use a burst art without a burst aura to power it. Once you get better at using your elementals, you'll be able to charge your burst aura faster, but there's no shortcut here. It's the very reason that burst arts are tricky even for experienced practioners. But don't worry about that. Focus on what you can control - your elementals. They are the foundation of everything you do."

There was a long pause as Melia considered the information. Upon first choosing the staff several days ago, she did not know that its usage extended any farther than "summon elementals, shoot elementals". She did not recall seeing any staff users ever bursting into an aura or unleasing spheres of light - then again, she had only ever seen them as guards and performers, never during a serious battle.

Reddel looked at the clock. "We still have ten minutes, but I think you've done enough for today. You've already achieved more success then some of my former students have reached in a month, I think that deserves a little reward." He reached into his vest and extracted a small wrapped piece of fudge. "Don't get too used to me handing out candy, now!"

Melia took the fudge and slipped it into her pocket before exchanging the Training Staff in her hands with the Practice Staff leaning against the wall. Looking down at its bright orange hue, she suddenly felt somewhat embarrased, realizing that the staff would act as a giant "I'm a trainee" sign to any who saw it. At least she would only have to carry it around this once - she could keep it stored in her room and never need to take it outside again. _If I collaspe it, then attach it to my belt like so...there, it should remain mostly hidden from view as I walk._ She then realized she had a question.

"Mr. Reddel? How long will it take before...before I can get a staff of my own?"

"Eager to wield your own personal staff instead of this reused training one, eh? I can't fault your enthusiasm. Unfortunately, that decision is out of my hands. Your evaluator, Keldon, will decide at what point you may have a functional staff of your own."

Unsurprised that the answer was "a while", Melia nodded and turned to leave. "I shall see you on Wednesday, then."

"Indeed."

* * *

For the next month, Reddel mostly oversaw Melia's summoning practice from the sidelines. Melia had progressed to summoning bolts in twenty seconds when cold and ten seconds when warmed up, while flares took a few seconds longer. Her burst aura was also becoming more consistent, building from empty to full with exactly thirty discharges every time, though the sensation was still unpleasant and the subsequent Burst End had yet to show any effects on its targets.

Intent on improving, Melia had begun spending a large chunk of her free time in her chambers, using her Practice Staff to repeatedly summon pretend elementals. It was difficult to tell whether she was gaining any practical advantage out of it, but it was surprisingly effective at reducing any frustrations she wound up acquiring during the course of her daily life.

With the month coming to a close, Melia walked into her training session to find both Reddel and Keldon waiting for her.

"Hello, Melia." Keldon began. "Welcome to your first monthly evaluation."

Melia had quite forgotten that she was to be tested once a month. She suddenly became nervous - Keldon's tone of voice got across the impression that he was not to be disappointed.

"The process of evaluation is quite simple. I will set tasks for you to accomplish, based on what Reddel has informed me you currently know, and you will complete them to the best of your ability. You will be marked by various criteria specific to each task, such as completion time. Once the test is complete, I will compile a report, which will be given to both Reddel and the Empress within a few days. Evaluations will be held once every month, but reports need only be written if a major change in ability has occurred. Do you have any questions?"

Her heart beating a little uncomfortably fast, Melia shook her head. "No, I do not."

"Good. Reddel will watch from up here. Let's get started." Keldon started heading down the stairs. Melia glanced at Reddel, who simply gave an encouraging smile, before dashing down to follow.

The training room was already prepared. A row of ten humanoid dummies stood in a clearing, while a total of twenty blue bullseyes of various sizes were hung across the walls and ceiling. Melia picked up the Training Staff from where she had left it and awaited further instructions.

"Your first task is to strike each of the twenty blue bullseyes in numerical order, alternating between bolts and flares. You will only be scored on accuracy." Keldon produced a clipboard and prepared to start writing. "You may begin at any time."

Melia calmed down slightly. Not only was she starting with something easy, but this was basically a warm-up session so her summoning time would be at its best during the timed tests to come. Taking a deep breath, she found the first target and started summoning.

As expected, the accuracy test was rather trivial for her. Each direct hit disconnected the target from its perch, leaving it to fall to the floor with a satisfying thump.

Keldon kept a straight face while he jotted notes. "Good. Hold still for a moment, please." He extracted an ether wand from his cloak and began making a complex motion with it. "To keep variables under control for each test, I must remove your discharge energy."

Melia could feel a draining sensation, as if someone had stuck a straw in her body and was sucking everything out. It was quite disconcerting.

Keldon finished the spell and tipped the wand into a bottle, filling it with a thick multi-coloured liquid. "I will store your energy for later, to save time." He stashed the bottle and wand back into his cloak, pulling out a stopwatch.

"Your next task is to strike each of these ten dummies with summoned bolts from behind the indicated line. You will be scored on both time and accuracy. The timer will begin in 5...4..."

Melia shook off the feeling of being drained and hurried to the line drawn on the floor.

"3...2...1...Go!"

Melia started the process of repeatedly firing bolts. Under time pressure, her summoning time became much less consistent, a problem that started growing worse as she continued summoning and firing with no pauses in between. Her final time was two minutes and seventeen seconds.

The third task was exactly the same as the second, though with flares instead of bolts. Not given much time to mentally recover from the previous race, Melia took almost three minutes to throw ten flares. Keldon drained her discharge energy again before continuing.

"Now, we will measure the damaging force of your elementals." He pointed to a device sitting on top of a stack of mats. It resembled a giant lollipop, a disc mounted on a stick attached to a numerical display. "Strike this disc with a bolt and a flare. I will record the damaging force reported."

Melia did as she was told. The bolt caused the display to show a 28, while the flare only reached 9. Having no point of comparison, she had no idea whether this was good or bad. She did previously get the sense that the bolt had more up-front power, whereas the flare had the advantage of residual damage.

Keldon directed Melia towards a spot at the end of the line of dummies. "It is now time to test your Burst End. I will be funnelling your stored discharge energy back into you, and once you have achieved burst aura, utilize Burst End. Your score will depend on the nature of the art's effect. You will only have one chance."

This was the first test Melia expected to do poorly on. She prepared herself for the injection of energy, hoping that she could at least inflict the nearest dummy with something.

Keldon siphoned the prismatic liquid out of his bottle with his wand and started moving it back where it came from. Once Melia exploded with power, she quickly raised her staff and detonated the energy. Despite the golden wave travelling over the entire row of dummies, they seemed to be completely unaffected.

Hiding her disappointment, Melia watched as Keldon walked over the the nearest dummy and prodded it in several places with his wand. After then investigating the second dummy, he started writing in his notes.

Finished with his investigation, Keldon moved on. "This completes the ether staff portion of this evaluation. However, as this is your first evaluation, there are some additional tests you must undergo. Follow me."

Melia followed him towards the back of the training room, where the weightlifting equipment was stationed. She had avoided this part of the room before, as it held no interest to her.

"Regardless of your weapon of choice," explained Keldon, "all students in this training course must have their physical strength, ether ability, speed, and resilience monitored at least once a year. As part of your specialization, your ether ability has already been thoroughly documented. Now we must move on to the other attributes."

Melia did not like the sound of this at all. Her running speed was not that bad, but she had no muscle to speak of, and was always surrounded by bodyguards when outside the palace for a reason.

"First, we will measure your footspeed. Step onto this treadmill and begin running as fast as you can. Maintain your speed for fifteen seconds and then stop."

She did as she was told. The treadmill displayed her top speed in three different units, all of which Keldon recorded.

"Next, your strength." He held out a plain metal rod, with a wire coming out the far end. "Take this."

Melia reached out and grapsed the rod. It was weightless.

"I will begin increasing the weight of the rod at a constant speed. Hold it aloft for as long as you can."

He pushed a button on a control panel on the other side of the wire. Melia felt the rod slowly become heavier. Grabbing it with both hands, she moved it to above her shoulders for a better holding posture, but it was still only a matter of seconds before it plummeted out of her grip. She thought she detected a hint of disappointment in Keldon's face as he wrote down a number.

"Now for the final test of this session: the resilience test." He directed Melia onto a large mat. "It is quite simple. I am going to direct a single weak attack at you, and you are to allow yourself to be hit. Your ability to withstand the attack will be recorded."

Melia _really_ didn't like the sound of this, but stood firm. "I am ready."

Keldon took out his wand, muttered to himself a bit, and fired a hair-thin jet of light directly at Melia's chest. She was blasted off her feet, like a piñata struck by a cannonball, and tumbled across the mat breathless with the world spinning madly. Keldon shook his head as he added the final mark to his notes, then cast a healing art on her. Winded but not hurting, Melia slowly got to her feet.

"This concludes the examination. You may now leave." Keldon turned to leave himself.

Melia slowly followed him into the observation room; he had already finished a short conversation with Reddel by the time she arrived, and quickly left the room.

Reddel turned to Melia and interrupted what she was about to say. "Don't judge him by your experience today. Being an evaluator requires being completely impersonal with the student; it's part of why I chose to turn down the job. He's quite a nice guy if you get to know him outside of work."

Melia closed her dangling mouth and went to looking downcast. _At least I won't get beaten up every month,_ she thought.

* * *

**_COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION_ **

_28 March Entirmina 297  
_

_Evaluator: Keldon, James_

_PERSONAL INFORMATION_

_Name: Antiqua, Melia  
_

_Gender: F_

_Race: High Entia father, Homs mother_

_D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 65)_

_Height: 134cm_

_Weight: 39.9kg_

_Specialization: Ether staff_

_STATISTICS_

_Note: Due to low magnitude, all provided values are estimates. Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale._

_Physical Strength: **2** As an undersized adolescent girl, not much was expected in this category, and not much was delivered. While this is to be monitored, the recommended action is patience.  
_

_Ether Attunation: **11** It has always been known that Melia's ether affinity is quite high, a trait that now manifests itself very clearly. It is expected that this will continue to be her strongest attribute throughout her life.  
_

_Agility: **3** Despite a reasonable running speed, Melia is somewhat uncoordinated. As this can also be attributed to adolescence, no action is currently necessary._

_Resilience: **20** Even with her small stature and hybrid nature taken into account, this is a shockingly low score for someone of her age. Recommend physical examination to confirm that she is in good health._

_Overall Combat Level: **~0.15** Melia shows incredible offensive ether potential, but is very behind the curve in strength and defenses. Only time will tell whether this will be rectified through age._

_ARTS_

_Elemental Discharge: **A** Once she has summoned an elemental, Melia can send it at a target with perfect accuracy without delay, though she currently seems to require physical motion to do so. At present, she requires 30 discharges to activate her burst aura, which is significantly ahead of schedule._

_Summon Bolt: **B+** Summoning time varies between 10 and 20 seconds, with less consistency and degrading performance under pressure. Discharged bolts are very well-behaved, travelling in perfectly straight lines._

_Summon Flare: **B** Summoning time varies between 15 and 25 seconds_ _, with less consistency and degrading performance under pressure. Discharged flares tend to follow curved paths, though they still have perfect accuracy.  
_

_Burst End: **D+** While it is impressive that Melia has caught onto a burst art very quickly, the fact remains that it has yet to have any effect, and a single usage drains her entire burst aura. For now, all that can be said is that more practice is necessary._

_Overall Arts Grade: **B** While an oversimplification, it would not be incorrect to say that after a big head start, Melia has fallen into a more natural rate of learning. Recommended next step: continual practice of known arts. Once enthusiasm for practice wanes and desire to learn something new rises, suggest a non-elemental ether art, possibly one of status as opposed to damage._


	3. Hypno and Spear

"This is a Qwoil," explained Reddel. "We use these to practice certain types of incapacitation arts."

Melia observed the new training dummy. It resembled a snake standing on its tail, its internal machinery making thousands of adjusments per second to keep itself upright, resulting in a curious, spinning, undulating dance. It was quite mesmerizing.

"Now, as you might have guessed by my explanation, you'll be learning an incapacitation art today."

Melia tore her eyes away from the Qwoil and focused on Reddel. After five months of doing nothing but summoning bolts and flares, she was both excited and nervous to learn something new.

"The art I'll be teaching you is called Hypnotise. It is non-damaging, instead causing its target to fall asleep. It's a bit of a misnomer, but it's nevertheless a useful tool. I shall demonstrate."

Reddel pointed his staff at the Qwoil. A second later, its movements began slowning down significantly, and it quickly fell to the floor motionless.

"As you can guess, this art is quite effective at reducing the number of foes you have to fight at once. It is less useful against a single enemy, as you can't expect something to stay asleep if you attack it, but it can still provide an opening for another technique or to escape."

Melia watched the Qwoil "wake up" and resume its mechanical rhythm, returning to its upright position. She wasn't quite sure if she liked the idea of putting foes to sleep in a battle; it seemed somewhat dishonourable.

"Now, the process of using Hypnotise is a bit different than what you're used to," Reddel continued. "Instead of focusing on a specific element, you have to envision your target being enveloped in a cloud of warm, inviting ether, while at the same time willing them to go to sleep. Go ahead and give it a try."

Remaining apprehensively wordless, Melia pointed her staff at the shifting Qwoil and started imagining a big fluffy cloud surrounding it, yellowish in colour and warm as a shower, surrounded by cartoonish "Z"s. She held the thought for well over a minute. Nothing happened. She started to wave her staff a bit, using it to collect more imaginary gas into the cloud while at the same time making what she hoped were calm swirling motions. Three minutes later, and there was still no effect. With her arm getting sore from holding the staff aloft, she broke off the attempt.

"Don't feel disappointed," Reddel said. "It's quite a radical difference in mental state compared to summoning elementals; no one has ever accomplished it on their first try. Keep at it."

For the next several minutes, Melia continued to try and put the Qwoil to sleep. She changed the colour and temperature of the imaginary cloud alongside various combinations of different staff motions. She could almost feel a soothing warmth beneath her fingers, but wasn't sure if it was also being imagined. After a total of twenty minutes, she had still accomplished nothing.

Frustrated, she turned to Reddel. "Use the art on me."

Reddel was taken aback. "Beg pardon?"

"Use the art on me. I wish to know what it feels like."

"Well, I...hmm..." Reddel stood with a hand on his chin for several seconds, his moustache rocking back and forth. "It is sensible that knowing the sensation of the art would help one reproduce it themselves. However, I am forbidden to use damaging or otherwise detrimental arts on students." Another pause to think. "I believe there is precedent for this sort of thing, so if you will excuse me, I will go seek the training committee's input." He hustled to the exit, muttering to himself.

Left alone, Melia decided to pass the time by conjuring a bolt and tossing it up and down with her staff. She didn't normally get much time to observe elementals before discharging them, so she amused herself by watching the ball lightning crackle. The compulsion to touch it was very strong, but she knew better - Reddel had warned her that her high ether power combined with her low resilience meant that a single careless bolt could easily put her in the hospital.

After about seven minutes, Reddel returned alongside someone who Melia didn't recognize.

"This is Hyugens, of the training committee," said Reddel. "He is here to oversee your signing of this, should you agree of course." He presented Melia with a short, one-sentence document.

_I, Melia Antiqua, agree to permit my instructor to utilize the art Hypnotise on me for the purposes of training._

Without hesitation, Melia took the quill presented to her and signed her name on the page. Hyugens signed his initials alongside, nodded to Reddel, and left the room.

"Well, that was simpler than I expected." Reddel directed Melia to a mat. "Whenever you're ready, step onto the mat."

Melia quickly hopped onto the squishy surface.

"Very well." Reddel raised his staff and performed the sleep-inflicting art.

Melia felt a comforting sensation descend upon her body, as if she was being cocooned by layers of heated blankets on a cold night. She felt her legs crumble and was fast asleep before she hit the floor.

It took about three minutes for Reddel to wake her up again. "You make a good demonstration," he chuckled.

Still a bit sleepy, Melia stood up and faced the Qwoil. Instead of a cloud of gas, she imagined wrapping it in fluffy blankets, spinning her staff like a glassblower. The Qwoil did seem to change its pattern somewhat, moving in slightly more exaggerated arcs as if it was paying less attention. After about thirty seconds of focus, it started running slowly enough that it began clattering across the floor; another twenty seconds later, and it was motionless.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Reddel. "A perfect example of how one's frame of mind must be just so for many ether arts."

Melia lowered her staff, somewhat pleased with herself. Sure, her Hypnotise took significant concentration and the better part of a minute to execute, but it was due to what was apparently an unusual idea that she had succeeded at all. She wondered if she could use the art on herself - she'd love to have a foolproof way of falling asleep without fuss.

* * *

"Hello, Melia." While Reddel normally waited in the observation room for Melia to arrive, today he was holding an official-looking document. "I need to speak with you before we begin today."

Melia sat down in an adjacent chair. With the end of March coming soon, an entire year and month since her training began, she suspected it was something to do with her upcoming evaluation. She was quickly vindicated.

"As you know, your yearly all-abilities evaluation will take place next week. I have no doubt about the strength of your improvements. However, I have been reminded of a new regulation that passed only a few years ago that I have not yet had to deal with, which states that all students in an ether-based program must regardless be taught at least one physical art within their first year."

Melia instantly became worried. Knowing that her strength was awful was bad enough, and now she had to be forced to learn a technique based on it, which would probably have to be tested on in the upcoming evaluation.

"I can see from your face that you're not looking forward to it," said Reddel. "I myself disagree with this rule, but it is what it is. So, this means you have a choice to make." He handed the paper he was holding to Melia. "You must choose one of these four arts to learn."

Melia looked at the list, which described four different arts involving physical staff attacks.

_Rod Bruise: A side swipe into the enemy's ribs. Lowers agility on hit._

_Spear Break: A jab with the head of the staff. Inflicts Break._

_Ankle Cut: A low swipe into the enemy's legs. Inflicts Topple._

_Head Rattle: A powerful strike to the enemy's skull. Inflicts Daze._

"As you can see, we have one art from four separate categories: damage, break, topple, and daze. It is your choice what you wish to go with."

Melia considered the choices. _It seems counter-productive for me to have to rush towards the enemy to get a physical hit in response to a Break. Attempting to cause physical damage is not my goal. Spear Break has no restrictions on targetting a specific body part, and so seems easier to grasp._ "I will take Spear Break."

"Very well. Let's get you down there so you can learn it."

On the floor of the training room, Reddel had set up a more advanced training drone: a Luxer, a humanoid device capable of being broken, toppled, and dazed like a real enemy combatant. Upon activation, it stood still in its bipedal battle stance, waiting to be attacked.

"As a physical art, Spear Break is comparatively simple. It consists of gripping your staff tightly and jabbing it into the enemy." Reddel demonstrated. The Luxer reeled backward, remaining upright, but clearly unstabilized. "There's not really much more to it: no mental concentration or ether involved, just pure physical motion. The intent of the attack is to destabilize the enemy; any damage caused is purely a bonus. Just throw all your strength at it."

After waiting for the Luxer to recover, Melia took a deep breath, took her staff in both hands, and poked her target. It was like prodding a rock wall. Not much happened; the drone didn't even react to the attack. She tried again, with similar lack of results. Throwing her whole body into a third attempt, she lost her grip on contact and ended up almost jabbing herself in the foot.

With no real advice to provide, Reddel had not much choice but to simply watch as Melia continued to poke the Luxer without so much as a single point of damage. Only upon Melia losing her composure and clobbering the drone over the head with her staff did it make an appreciable reaction, and even then only because she had scored a critical hit.

"I appreciate your passion for success," began Reddel, "but perhaps you should mix other arts into your practice to avoid becoming too frustrated with this one."

The frustrated Melia heeded the advice, tossing a few elementals into distant targets, but still had no luck when going back to the physical attack. She even tried building a burst aura before using the break art, hoping that the feeling of power would have a beneficial effect, but it was not to be. No hint of success ever materialized.

Once the training session was over, Melia retreated to her room and started venting rage on pillows, half mad at herself for failing, half mad at the rules for setting her up to fail, and another half mad at how she would have to repeat this failure many times over with no sign of progress.

* * *

**_COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION_ **

_26 March Entirmina 298  
_

_Evaluator: Keldon, James_

_PERSONAL INFORMATION_

_Name: Antiqua, Melia  
_

_Gender: F_

_Race: High Entia father, Homs mother_

_D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 66)_

_Height: 136cm_

_Weight: 40.4kg_

_Specialization: Ether staff_

_STATISTICS_

_Note: Due to low magnitude, all provided values are estimates. Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale._

_Physical Strength: **2** Unsurprisingly, with little training in this weak area, no improvement has been seen. It is still too early, however, to make a call on whether this needs specific focus.  
_

_Ether Attunation: **13** Improvement as expected. Still above-average; no action needed.  
_

_Agility: **4** Little improvement, but not out of the ordinary. Again, recommend nothing but patience.  
_

_Resilience: **22** To be perfectly frank, it is a bit of a mystery as to how a healthy adolescent girl cannot sustain as much physical punishment as some children half her age.  
_

_Overall Combat Level: **~0.17** Melia's improvements over the past year are, overall, well within the average.  
_

_ARTS_

_Elemental Discharge: **A** There has been little change here, with summoned elementals retaining perfect accuracy via physical propulsion. Burst aura now requires 27 discharges for activation.  
_

_Summon Bolt: **B+** Summoning time varies between 5 and 8 seconds, with slightly degrading performance under pressure. Discharged bolts travel in perfectly straight lines at high speed._

_Summon Flare: **B+** Summoning time varies between 6 and 9 seconds_ _, with slightly degrading performance under pressure. Discharged flares now travel in straight lines, though Melia seems to enjoy making them travel in curves for dramatic effect.  
_

_Burst End: **D+** Despite a year of practice, there is a marked lack of improvement here. As burst aura generation is still somewhat slow, this is not entirely unexpected, and should be rectified in time.  
_

_Hypnotise: **C** While the casting of this art is always successful, it takes between 25 and 35 seconds to reach full effectiveness, requiring constant concentration the entire time.  
_

_Spear Break: **F** Even given that this art was learned a mere week before this evaluation, Melia shows a complete and utter inability to even damage defenseless targets with it, let alone break their defensive stance. Should this persist for another month, consider providing some way of practising outside training sessions._

_Overall Arts Grade: **C+** As an average, this grade is somewhat misleading; Melia's elemental arts remain as effective as ever, and together are easily worth an A. It is her non-elemental arts that drag her down, and which are recommened for extra focus in the upcoming year.  
_


	4. Multiple Shake-Up

It was a crisp September day as Melia drearily entered the training room. With Spear Break continuing to be an utter waste of her time for an entire one and a half years, and having learned nothing new since, the three-times-a-week sessions had turned into an unattractive drag. It didn't help that the public gossips had started to latch onto "the half-blood princess decided to learn ether because she's super-frail". She needed no reminder of being poor at something.

"How do you feel about learning something new today?"

Melia instantly perked up at Reddel's words. "That would be..." ... _appreciated? Too obvious. Um, how about..._ "...bountiful." _No! Too strange a word, stupid, stupid..._

"Would it now? Excellent." Reddel summoned a flare into his staff, which sat in the spiral design. "Today, you'll be learning how to do this."

Without any imputus, the flare left the staff and started swirling around Reddel's head, before flying upwards and tracing complex designs in the air, and then finally dissipating.

"Given your exceptional discharge accuracy, I believe you're already subconsciously aware of how to control elementals with nothing but your mind. We just need to unlock that potential for your conscious self."

Melia's enthusiasm crawled out of the hole it had been hiding in for several months. The applications of learning how to mentally control the flight paths of elementals were obvious, for both spectacle and combat alike.

"So, let's begin by telling me about your flares. Back when we started your training, they moved in curved paths yet still never missed their target. Now, they move just as straight as your bolts. Why is that?"

Melia considered the question. She'd never really thought about why her flares tended to curve; it just made sense. "I do not know. I thought the curved motion was an intristic property of the elemental, and it has taken much effort to straighten it out."

Reddel nodded. "Remember when you first picked up the staff? You produced three straight-moving bolts and a steeply-curved flare. This primed your mind to recognize these as the elementals' natural paths. In fact, the only reason your elementals leave your staff at all is because you expect them to behave like physical objects upon making your exaggerated casting motion. You must learn to funnel this expectation into direct control. So, we shall begin with a course-correction exercise." He pointed to the numbered targets on the back wall of the room. "Only after you launch an elemental will I tell you which target to aim for."

Melia summoned a flare and gave it a light toss towards the wall of targets, causing it to float through the air parabolically, slowly moving towards the center of the target cluster.

"Three!"

The target marked with a "3" was the rightmost one. Melia set her gaze on it and imagined the flare making a right turn towards it. It didn't move from its existing path, trundling slowly towards the 5 target.

_Move. Go right. Get over there._ Melia kept staring at the 3 target, which was still not in the flare's path. _Go on, turn right. Move over. Do something!_ She instinctively pointed sideways with her right hand. The flare immediately rolled over as if struck by a crosswind and picked up speed, slamming directly into the 3 target.

"Not bad," Reddel commented. "You still seem to depend on physical motion, but it's a start."

It did not take long for Melia to gain a strong grasp of directing elementals that were already in motion. Within twenty minutes, she could fire an elemental and make it soar around the entire perimeter of the room before dropping into a corkscrew and scoring a bullseye on any given target, using her free arm to direct its movements. Another thirty minutes, and she could control both speed and direction, and from there it was trivial to fire an elemental directly out of her staff just by pointing at her target.

"Impeccable as usual," Reddel applauded. "Now all you have to do is practise making gradually smaller movements, until you have it down to just mental power. It'll be more involved than the initial process done today, but once learned it'll stick with you forever."

Melia stared at the bolt hovering above her outstretched hand. Having complete control over elemental movements, whether it needed physical motions or not, had turned out to be highly satisfying. It was a shame that her Practice Staff couldn't allow her to practise such manipulation.

* * *

It only took a month for Melia to grasp mental-only control of elementals' movements, though it was still far cruder than directing them with physical motion, with slower response time and occasional lapses of concentration resuling in near-misses. Her interest in training re-spurred, she started having a variety of dreams involving herself fighting various make-believe enemies, with one in particular sparking a question. At the beginning of a training session in late October, she posed it.

"Mr. Reddel? What happens if two elementals collide?"

Reddel stroked his moustache. "Been thinking about fighting like-armed foes, eh?"

Melia nodded. She didn't feel it necessary to say that the dream involved her fighting herself.

"Well, why don't you try it out yourself?" Reddel directed an arm towards the empty airspace in the middle of the room.

Melia nervously looked between Reddel's arm and her staff. She had expected an answer, not an invitation to do something potentially dangerous - on the other hand, it must not be that dangerous if he was inviting her to test it.

She went ahead and summoned a flare, transfering it from her staff to her hand, and then moved to summoning a bolt. With both elementals active, she tossed the flare into the air and sent the bolt flying after it. When they met in midair, the flare exploded and the bolt tumbled down to the ground, dissipating on landing.

"As you can see," began Reddel, "the flare detonates on impact, while the bolt persists but with weakened power. If you were sufficiently committed, you could have made the weakened bolt continue to strike its target."

Melia nodded in comprehension. _A reasonable result. I suppose if two like elementals collide, they cancel each other out completely, unless one user is much stronger than...hold on...did I...?!_

"And now you are realizing something else important," Reddel responded to the look of dawning recognition on Melia's face. "You have just controlled two elementals at once for the first time. With no apparent difficulty, might I add, an impressive feat compared to the vast majority of practioners."

"You...you set me a task that you expected me to fail at?"

"On the contrary. It is most effective for the first-timer to not realize they are summoning a second elemental while the first still exists. And your ambidexterousness is a massive boon to controlling two elementals at once. I had complete faith in your success."

Used to her handedness earning her reprimands for doing things "wrong", Melia ended up blushing a little.

"I had planned to formally introduce you to multi-elemental control in three months, but you provided a perfect opportunity to jump ahead. Now, let's see you give it a more thorough try."

Melia nodded and summoned a bolt. The subsequent flare was indeed more difficult to bring forth now that she was aware of what she was doing, having to concentrate on both the elemental being produced and the one she was already keeping aloft. She experimented with tossing the two balls of energy between her staff and her free hand before launching the flare at a distant target, where it detonated with noticably more force than usual.

"Now that you can command multiple elementals at once, you are ready to be taught another facet of their usage." Reddel summoned a pair of his own, which hovered over his head. "As long as they remain idle, elementals bestow a positive effect on the controller and nearby allies. Bolts provide a nexus of energy that amplifies offensive ether attacks, whereas the warmth of flares empowers muscles and allows more potent physical strikes. In time, you will learn when to fire elementals for damage, and when to keep them nearby for support."

Nodding again, Melia summoned a second bolt and had it collide with the first, resulting in both disappearing in a mighty bang. While being an all-out attacker was always what she envisioned herself doing, she knew that taking a more support-like role in fights would probably be more effective.

* * *

Over the next nine months of training, Melia made it a point to always keep two elementals active at once, no matter what she was doing. It started out as a hindrance, messily juggling two elementals over her head while trying to use Hypnotise or Burst End, but eventually developed into a skill trivial enough that she would sometimes forget to dispel them before leaving the room at the end of a session.

It was a hot day in July when an idea popped into her head.

_I have never seen anyone with more than two elementals active at one time. Even in the cases of performances where one actor is surrounded by a large amount, it still appears that one practioner is required for every two elementals. It must be at least somewhat challenging to produce a third simultaneous elemental._ She looked up at the two bolts hanging effortlessly above her head. _I'm going to try it._

Melia started focusing on summoning a third bolt. Her instinct was immediately proved correct; she could feel a mental block from trying to split her attention three ways, even though she was previously maintaining the existing ones mostly subconsciously. It was much like the first time she had ever tried to summon something, though with additional distractions.

Reddel noticed that Melia had stopped moving. "Is everything all right?"

Melia ignored him. She could sense the bolts above her head starting to move erratically, like slowing spinning tops, as the electric charge in her staff gradually built up. She was determined to make it work. After about twenty seconds, the third bolt finally materialised in her staff, and the other two bolts immediately stabilized.

_That wasn't so hard._ Melia lobbed the third elemental into the air alongside the other two. She had to consciously focus on all three to keep them aloft. _A little challenging to create, but not really any harder to control. I wonder if I can get a fourth into the mix within a year or so._

"Well I'll be." Reddel's voice was enough of a distraction that the trio of elementals tumbled down a few centimetres before being pushed back up. "Given your overall exceptional affinity with the tools, I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised that you're a natural tripler."

Melia responsed with a confused face; she didn't feel like she could put effort into speaking without dropping something.

"Only a very small percentage of ethermasters have the mental fortitude to manipulate three elementals at once," he explained, "and an even smaller subset of them believe it is worth the effort. It is a skill practised by few and utilised by fewer."

_So probably no fourth then,_ Melia thought. _Three is still quite useful though - one for offense and two for support._ She could feel her mind getting exhausted from the effort of keeping all three in the air, and so decided to cast one away, knocking a punching bag off its stand. _It's much harder to keep three around that it was to keep two at first, perhaps exponentially so. But practice should be able to solve it._

"Due to its difficulty," continued Reddel, "and the fact that I cannot demonstrate it myself, tripling is not something that I had planned to introduce to you at all. So, if you intend to practise it, I will need to delay what was to be the next step."

Melia hesitated for only a moment. "I accept the challenge." She immediately got to work on summoning a flare to hold alongside the two existing bolts.

* * *

Unlike learning to control two elementals at once, Melia could not focus on other tasks while straining to juggle three, so until reaching the point of being able to do so she had to take time out of training sessions just to practise "tripling". It was also more difficult to tell if she was getting anywhere - two months in, and she didn't really feel like there had been much improvement. But knowing that it was a rare skill was motivation to continue, to develop beyond what anyone else had done.

One day in late September, she was experimenting with various elemental formations, seeing if some positionings were easier to maintain than others.

_This pyramid formation seems the least-mentally-intensive overall,_ she mused, face scrunched in concentration. _It is as if the two bolts below are helping keep the central flare suspended. The question is, should I focus on an easier position and work on harder ones later, or-  
_

Her thoughts were interrupted upon Kallian barrelling into the room like a man on fire. Melia didn't even have time to become confused before he spoke.

"She's dying."

It only took a split-second for Melia to parse the sentence and charge towards the exit, her elementals trailing her like beads on a string.

"MELIA!" Reddel called after her, but she was already far gone.

Tripping over the top step of the staircase leading to the observation room, Melia started running full speed down the palace corridors towards the hospital wing, oblivious to all around her. Like the rest of the imperial family, she knew that Empress Entirmina had contracted an incurable disease some months ago, but it was expected to merely cripple her legs within a year. The chances of it resuling in death were considered miniscule.

Melia had a complex relationship with "Auntie Enti". Upon the death of Melia's birth mother, the infertile and childless Entirmina took advantage of a few holes in the imperial texts concerning acceptable interaction involving royal nephews to take on a role similar to a distant second stepmother. Melia always got the feeling that she was a better pseudo-parent than Yumea, her actual stepmother, in that she always acted with charm and friendliness even when busy with imperial matters. But it not entirely frictionless; she felt that Entirmina was always pushing her a little too hard to succeed, especially in the past ten years or so.

Reaching the entrance to the hospital wing, Melia blazed past the secretary and clumsily skidded to a stop outside the Prominence Ward, reserved for members of the imperial family. She was surprised to see the door closed and her father standing outside, his face blank.

"Father, what has happened?"

"Ah, Melia, you made excellent time." Sorean continued to stare off into the distance. While he was hiding it well, it was still clear he was under great emotional stress. "The disease has attacked much farther up the spine than was predicted, and with much greater force. Her heart has mere minutes left in it."

Melia did not expect such a dispassionate response from the empress's brother, but supposed it was his way of coping with the situation. "So...why can we not enter?"

"The Empress has called an emergency meeting with the Seer. I suspect he is sharing as much knowledge as he can in order to ease any personal regrets she may have."

The two stood in silence for a time. Melia watched the clock on the wall while trying to keep her mind out of the situation's gravity. She never really liked the current Seer, a codgerey old Homs named Zordes with an ankle-length beard and very little respect for anyone outside the imperial family. She knew he had a son named Alvis, and hoped he would be a more personable Seer when he would inevitably take over the family position - not that she put much stock into the position of Seer anyway. The fact that only one Homs bloodline in history was ever known to have prescience was always a a bit suspicious, as was each Seer's ability to unfailingly pass on said ability to their one and only child.

After about two minutes, Kallian arrived. "Mother is visiting Flasch University. She has been discreetly sent for and may not arrive for some time."

Sorean nodded, his face still rigid. "It may be just as well. I would hate to see them come to another disagreement at such a time."

It was known even amongst the public gossips that Entirmina and Yumea did not like each other very much. To Melia, it felt like her inadequacies were the only thing they ever agreed on, and even then with much different attitude.

Three minutes later, the door opened and Zordes walked out, staring into the distance. He was shortly followed by a Homs boy, probably somewhere between 10 and 12 years old, that Melia supposed was Alvis.

"How goes it?" asked Sorean.

"It will not be long now," Zordes said in his typical distant drawl. "I have told her everything I know of the script of the future. All that remains is for both of us to exit the stage."

Sorean visibly jolted in surprise. "Both?"

"I have expended my remaining sight for this occasion. My duty to the empress concludes alongside her life. When you take the throne, it will be with my son Alvis as your Seer."

"...very well." Sorean let the two Homs walk a few steps further away before hurrying into the ward, with Kallian and Melia following.

Entirmina occupied the middle of the three beds, dressed in the same vibrant blue, gold-trimmed robes that she had worn for the past three centuries. Her waist-length hair was coiled into a collection of shoulder-length spirals. A device resting on her chest was transmitting her current heart rate, a measly 45 bpm and still dropping, to a monitor alongside the bed.

As the three relatives approached the bed, the monitor jumped up to 65 bpm as Entirmina opened her eyes.

"Well now," she uttered, "someone's brought in an energy surge."

Sorean gave a half-smile and nodded, ignoring whatever formalities that may have been in place. "That would be Melia. She seems to have taken her work here with her."

"Er..." Melia realized that she was still holding the Training Staff and had three elementals hovering over her head; the realization suddenly put much strain on her mind as she now had to work to keep them afloat while trying to avoid dwelling on potential punishments for removing the staff from the training room.

Entirmina smiled at Melia. "As one of the most gifted ether users of the past millenium, I would expect nothing less from her."

The unexpected level of praise stunned Melia. She could not think of what to say, simply nodding with a straight face.

"And you, Kallian." The empress turned to the other royal heir. "Your brilliant mind and refusal to concede have been an immeasurable boon to helping my daily affairs over the past few months. I expect a similar level of success when you follow behind your father."

"You need not worry, Your Majesty."

"Oh, enough of the stuffiness, Kal. We're here as a family now."

It was Kallian's turn to be stunned, it having been over half a century since he was last referred to as "Kal". The look on his face was quite amusing.

Sorean chuckled and delved into sibling banter. "Don't break the children too hard, we've spent too much time building them up."

"And who appointed you the fun police?" A short pause. "Oh wait, that was me. You were what, 25-ish? Desperate to have some sort of royal appointment, so I bestowed upon you the title of "Fun Enforcer". Father was appalled."

"He should've been more appalled about your hairstyle at the time, wrapping it around your ears like big frizzy earmuffs."

"With what little hair he had by then, who was he to judge?"

The two siblings shared a laugh and continued bantering about the past as the heart rate monitor gradually slowed down. Melia felt somewhat left out of the conversation, but didn't really mind, as she felt she had nothing to add and was busy keeping her elementals suspended. Kallian appeared similarly distanced, intentionally staying out of the situation's natural flow.

"...and then you tried to hit me with a fish." Entirmina tried not to laugh too hard. "Were you ever allowed back in the kitchens after that?"

"I should hope so. Your 200th birthday would have been a disaster if I hadn't noticed the Horned Orangejacket nest attached to the window."

"Even that feels like so long ago... A reign of three hundred years. Not many can claim that longevity. Pity that I couldn't set the record...what is it now, Bernus at three-twenty?"

"And he started at age 93. You were given the throne at just 50, not even out of elementary classes."

"So long ago...Bionis must have decided I was cheating." A short laugh. "It was so awkward to turn in written assignments with my own name as the year. Ah well. Start early, finish early, that's what Mother used to say."

Melia couldn't keep her elementals up anymore. Finally running out of mental power, they dropped from the air and dissipated as they scattered across the floor. The extra energy sources lost, Entirmina's heart rate fell from 40 to 15.

"And how early do you think my children should start? I am not a young man, after all..."

Entirmina's light mood faded alongside her heart. "I do not believe I should answer that...Zordes has told me more than I wished to know about the future...of triumph, pain, and the end of it all..."

* * *

_29 September Entirmina 300 - THE HIGH ENQUIRY \- 3G_

**DEATH OF ENTIRMINA -** **_Sorean to be next Emperor_**

_[Gim Fletcher, Imperial Correspondant]_

_The longest imperial reign in recent memory has finally concluded._

_Empress of Alcamoth, Entirmina Antiqua, succumbed to an unusual mutation of Pendrort's Disease on Wednesday afternoon. The Empress, aged 350, was expected to lose nothing but the use of her legs when first diagnosed in April. However, the disease took a little-documented path and spread to her heart, leading to a swift and peaceful death.  
_

_"We are all saddened for this loss," reads a statement from the Imperial Bureau of Communication. "The stability that Empress Entirmina has brought to our people over the past three centuries cannot be understated."_

_Given the throne as but a child by Emperor Delus, who wished to spend his final years with his newborn son Sorean, Entirmina ruled with a level head and steady hand beyond her years. With the passing of Delus, she took on the additional responsibility of raising Sorean without a second thought, leading some to refer to her as "the Motherly". After 80 years of rule, she married Bellarius Rajek and prepared for what all expected to be a fruitful motherhood._

_The news that Entirmina was infertile came as a shock to all of Alcamoth. The ancient texts were firm: none but the empress herself was allowed to bear children to continue the imperial line, and the only alternative was to abdicate to Sorean and implicitly cast eternal dishonour upon her father's name. Dedicating their lives to the task, Entirmina and Sorean worked together with the imperial bureaucracy to draft a suitable exception in a modest twenty years: in a case of incurable infertility, a sibling may be called upon to produce heirs. Alongside this radical new act came more funding towards fertility research and new sanctions regarding future rulers being tested early, hoping to reduce or eliminate the chances of such an event ever recurring._

_Despite her terrible stroke of luck, Entirmina continued to hold her head high and demonstrate all the qualities a perfect ruler should have. Even though the divorce of Bellarius, the Plague of Relon, and the Great Strike of Her 214, she never once backed down from what needed to be done._

_Sorean Antiqua, brother of Entirmina and father of the heirs Kallian and Melia, will officially be named Emperor at a ceremony on Monday. He declined a request for comment._

→ CNT'D PG.02


	5. Shadowed

**_COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION_ **

_24 March Sorean 1  
_

_Evaluator: Keldon, James_

_PERSONAL INFORMATION_

_Name: Antiqua, Melia  
_

_Gender: F_

_Race: High Entia father, Homs mother_

_D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 69)_

_Height: 139cm_

_Weight: 41.1kg_

_Specialization: Ether staff_

_STATISTICS_

_Note: Due to low magnitude, all provided values are estimates. Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale._

_Physical Strength: **3** After five years of training, Melia's physical power remains at a surprising low. While it remains a concern, it is only because her final growth spurt is expected in the next year that action is not currently necessary.  
_

_Ether Attunation: **14** A slight regression has been marked here, presumably due to the major changes in her personal life over the past half-year. It is expected to recover.  
_

_Agility: **5** It is difficult to tell whether this is improving or not, again due to an expected growth spurt upcoming. It is not very important at this time.  
_

_Resilience: **28** Historical analysis indicates that Melia may be the shortest heir to the throne in a good seven hundred years, if not longer, but even with that considered, her resilience remains dangerously low. Perhaps a change in diet may prove beneficial; suggest consulting with the head chef.  
_

_Overall Combat Level: **~0.26** This is quite a high value when only her combat statistics are taken into question, but is arguably lower than expected when her arts are considered.  
_

_ARTS_

_Elemental Discharge: **A+** In addition to perfect accuracy, exceptional elemental control with good progress towards mental-only control, and a burst aura of 22 discharges, Melia is a natural tripler and seems very committed towards training this ability to its full potential.  
_

_Summon Bolt: **A-** Summoning time varies between 4 and 5 seconds, with the bolt dealing comparatively extreme damage to targets.  
_

_Summon Flare: **A-** Summoning time varies between 5 and 6 seconds_ _, with the ability to detonate the flare at will in addition to on contact.  
_

_Burst End: **C-** Melia has finally managed to tease an effect out of this art, revealing it to weaken targets' defenses, though it is still minimally effective and can only be noticed through directed inspection.  
_

_Hypnotise: **C+** Casting time ranges from 15 to 20 seconds, requiring constant concentration the entire time, and is ultimately always successful. Nothing else can be said but practice.  
_

_Spear Break: **F** Melia can now damage targets with this art about 50% of the time, but as much as this is progress, it is not success.  
_

_Overall Arts Grade: **B-** Melia continues to be an elemental specialist of impressive skill and potential. However, it is worrisome that her skillset is so tightly constrained, and that outside her comfort zone her results are mediocre at best. Recommend that the next thing to learn is another non-elemental art.  
_

* * *

Melia sat on the floor inside her wardrobe in front of the mirror, staring intently at her wings.

Now that her father was emperor, he set the rules regarding her combat training, and beginning in April he had cut her sessions from three times a week to only every Wednesday. His explanation was that he didn't want a potential future empress to be steeped too deeply as a fighter, and that he had always considered more than two sessions a week to be excessive. She believed the real reason was that she was advancing too quickly and would be a potential threat to usurp the throne from Kallian, something she'd never think of doing but suspected several prejudiced advisors believed in.

So, now with two hours a week that had yet to be rescheduled, Melia had to find a way to keep herself busy. She wasn't yet sure what to do on Mondays, but for the Fridays, it was trying to develop motor control of her wings.

The average High Entian believed that flight was an evolutionary leftover and never attempted to learn it. Those who did fly had to devote a large portion of their time towards it, constantly keeping their body in peak physical form, and even then it was considered to be too late for anyone over the age of 60 to start. As a result, while athletes were generally given a pass, seeing someone fly around was considered attention-seeking and a sign of eccentricity.

Melia knew that she had no hope of getting off the ground with her tiny wings, but still felt compelled to learn to control them. She'd been told by Kallian a few times that they would sometimes start wiggling or flapping on their own accord based on her current emotional state, and being unable to suppress that kind of reaction was simply no good.

She continued to stare at the left wing as she prodded it with a sock-covered pencil, trying to stimulate the muscle in her head that could drive it. Even hidden in a closet, she was too scared to touch them with her hands when not actively shampooing them due to how sensitive they were - they contained the same amount of nerve endings as a pureblood's full-size wings in a much smaller area.

After about half an hour, Melia had figured out how to make small, twitchy movements with both wings. It was both pleasing and uncomfortable, the feeling of succeeding at something not supposed to be done. She was about to move onto fiddling with a different joint when she heard a knock. Looking out the wardrobe door, she saw a letter fall through the mail slot. Hesitantly, she walked over and opened it, finding her father's handwriting.

_Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m., please come to the Northwestern Advisor's Room, in order to prepare you for your first independent public excursion._

It took a few seconds fo Melia to comprehend what the phrase "independent public excursion" meant. Once she figured it out, she dropped the letter and collapsed onto the floor, heart racing like mad.

Melia had been outside the palace many times before for a variety of reasons, mostly related to being present at imperial functions. Each of these times, she was made to wear an elaborate full-head mask, concealing her face, hair, and wings from the public, and was surrounded by four personal bodyguards at all times. She was never given a straight answer as to why her identity had to be kept a secret, but now the reasoning was clear. In several of the stories from her childhood, a royal trapped in the palace would disguise themselves as a citizen in order to meet the general public and learn how the average person lived. She was to be doing the same thing, just with removing a disguise instead of applying it.

Melia spent the rest of the day fidgiting uncontrollably, and didn't get much sleep that night. She was dead scared of being out in public alone, with zero experience with the outside world, and one slip-up would reveal her to be the princess and lead to who knows what. She hated to make mistakes, and this would be an extended situation where mistakes would be both easier and far more detrimental.

* * *

"I have wired this transporter to send you to the central hub of Lumian District as if you were entering the city from southern Eryth Sea. Once you are finished, return to the same transporter, and you will be intercepted and redirected here." The transporter chief finished his spiel. "Are you ready?"

Melia suspected her face was white as a sheet. Clutching her handbag with enough force to choke someone, she gave the tiniest of nods.

Sorean kneeled down to get eye level with his daughter and put a hand on her shoulder. "It is only natural to fear the unknown. You are going to be all right."

 _That cliché is the best you can do? I bet you..._ Melia's subconscious mind uncorked a variety of sour, ungrateful phrases that her consciousness suppressed before they got to her mouth.

"You just need to relax," Kallian interjected. "You'll be just another person out there. No spotlight, no pressure, no eyes on you all the time. You might be surprised what anonymity feels like."

 _And what would you know about that, you..._ Melia clamped down on her jaw really hard to stop the insults from escaping. She wasn't really sure why her fear had turned into anger; probably something to do with how people who had never gone through her situation were telling her how it would go.

The clock tower struck twelve. Sorean gently pushed Melia towards the transporter. "It is time for you to go."

Fear became Melia's primary emotion again. She staggered onto the transporter with two left feet, and from there it took a full ten seconds to gather the mental focus to activate it.

As expected, she appeared without a hitch in the transport hub in the Lumian District, the main commercial centre of Alcamoth. Saturday lunch hour was not the busiest possible time of the week, but the place was decently full of people. After being transfixed for a few seconds, her legs started walking on autopilot, and she became partially relieved that no one seemed to be paying attention to her at the moment. It was a double-edged sword of course; she was somewhat used to people scrambling to get out of her way and almost walked right into a group of four large men before catching herself.

Melia went over her objectives in her head, given to ensure that she participate meaningfully in the excursion. She was given a modest 250G to work with and had two goals: have lunch somewhere, and buy something. While she wasn't feeling very hungry, she figured that having lunch first was the safer option, to ensure she didn't end up buying anything too expensive and running out of money for food.

While Melia was not exactly a stranger to the Lumian District, she had never really paid attention to where any specific outlets were. Still running on panicky autopilot, she turned into the first door that had a food-like smell coming out of it without paying much attention to what exactly it was.

It turned out that she had walked into a fast food joint specializing in Ekidno meat. The lines weren't very long, but most of the tables were filled with chattering customers. Melia counted the size of the lines and the remaining tables - there would be enough room left to sit by herself. She joined a line and intently watched those in front of her, trying to learn how one was supposed to order. When it came to her turn she thought she had a fairly good grasp of it.

The cashier was a 90-something guy with very short hair and oddly-curved wings. "Welcome to Ike's, what'll it be?"

Panic autopilot did not have a speech mode; thinking of what to say to a complete stranger was far less difficult than actually spitting it out. Melia looked back up at the menu displayed above. "A-a radish salad, p-please."

"And to drink?"

"L-lemon juice."

"Okay that'll be 36G."

Melia opened up her handbag and counted out the correct amount of money. To her surprise, a tray with her order appeared on the counter pretty much at the same time she had finished paying.

"T-thank you." She snatched the tray and scrambled towards an empty table near the far left corner. Only upon sitting down did she release a massive sigh of relief - she had succeeded at something completely scary and foreign with no major slip-ups. Hunger started setting in alongside satisfaction, so she picked up the flimsy disposable fork provided and started eating. It wasn't that bad.

"Hey, is this seat taken?"

Melia looked up to see a boy about her age standing beside her; he was wearing mostly aqua-green and had quite ruffled feathers. She glanced around to see that there was one or maybe two empty chairs left in the whole place - it would be extremely rude to make him go away. Mouth full of salad, she reluctantly shook her head "no".

"Thanks, I didn't expect it to be this busy." The boy sat down, revealing two Ekidno burgers and a large carbonated beverage on his tray. Melia tried to find interesting spots on the wall to stare at.

The two ate in silence for a few minutes as a wave of customers all finished and left at about the same time, followed by another wave coming in. Melia was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the lemon juice and quite enjoyed having a straw to drink it with, having been forbidden to use the "childish implement" since she turned 50.

"And who is _this_ you got here?" The new voice had quite the sneer to it. Melia looked up to see a trio of boys that fit the traditional definition of "bully" very well: large for their age in all directions and posturing as if they ran the place.

"Knock it off, Brent," responded the boy sitting with Melia. It was clear he'd dealt with this gang before.

"Who are we knocking off, now?" The second bully had a very oily voice, like the kind of guy that spends his time preparing the most effective ways to insult people. The third boy clearly thought this was a very funny retort, as he started chuckling madly.

"You're not dumb enough to try anything with this many people around." The sitting boy dismissively turned his attention back to his food in a manner that suggested he wished they were dumb enough.

Scowling, the gang shuffled off to line up.

"Sorry about that." The boy had finished one burger and moved on to the second. "Those guys think they can get away with anything, and for the past few months their goal has been to push me around. I'm Fred, by the way. What's your name?"

She was trying to avoid participating in any conversations, but she couldn't refuse a direct question. "My name is Melia." The imperial demographer had reported that her name was common enough amongst the general public that it was safe to use without arousing suspicion.

"Oh, like the princess?" Fred paused for just long enough to give Melia a small heart attack. "Oh I'm sorry you must hear that all the time, I apologize."

Melia managed to swallow the piece of radish she had almost choked on. _Maybe I_ should _have considered a false name. My name is probably only popular_ because _it's the princess's name._

"Anyway," continued Fred, "I haven't seen you around Proval before, so you go to Cresp? What's it actually like there?"

Melia was aware that the two major high schools in Alcamoth were Proval Heights and Cresp Vocational Institute, but knew nothing about them. Needing to avoid becoming trapped in falsehoods, she thought of a third option that was hopefully not too unusual. "I am home-schooled." It was pretty much the truth.

"Oh alright." Fred looked up and seemed to spot someone. "Hey Rick, over here!"

"Yo!" Another boy jogged over and sat on the third available side of the table, with some sort of toasted sandwich on his tray. He had sky-blue clothes, shoulder-length hair, and small headwings.

"Was lookin' for a seat far away from Brute, Blab, & Bum," Rick said.

"You didn't smell 'em when you came inside?" The two boys shared a laugh. "Anyway, this is Melia, she just happened to be here when the place was full earlier."

Rick nodded in Melia's direction. "It's always nice to see another hybrid. Say, where's your Homs parent from? My mum was from Colony 6."

Still with about two or three minutes to go before finishing her meal, Melia couldn't leave the question unanswered. She thought for a moment to determine that she might as well tell the truth; the details of her Homs heritage were known to be a complete secret to the public, so leaving it to a couple of boys that were sure to forget about her by next week seemed safe. "My mother was from Colony 9."

Rick let out a low whistle. "Way down from 9, eh? That's impressive. My dad went there once to study some of the ecosystem. He said it's about as different from here as you can get, for a grasslands anyway. You ever been there yourself?"

Melia shook her head. She was never really interested in the idea of visiting a Homs colony just because a relative once lived there; Homs and their possessions were so comparatively short-lived that there was unlikely to be anything relevant remaining.

"Well that's not much of a surprise honestly. Dad says it's not a good idea for us to visit the lower Homs colonies because of how most of them don't believe in us; there's no telling what they might do if one saw us." Rick took another bite of his sandwich. "Man, I wish Colonies 5 and 8 were still around."

"Count me into that," Fred added. "It'd be so much better for us hybrids if we weren't such a minority."

Melia, just finishing her lemon juice, was caught off guard. "You too?"

"Yeah." Fred turned a little gloomy. "My dad was Homs. No idea who he was or where he's from though."

Having avoided previously doing so, Melia gave Fred a more thorough look-over. _Those ruffled feathers certainly could be of Homs origin and not just poor hygiene._ It was generally a toss-up as to whether a half-blood possessed full wings or small wings, though those of High Entian mothers tended to have full wings, and those of Homs mothers often had small wings.

"Anyway, I gotta get back home." Fred stood up with empty tray in hand. "No way I'm missing the pregame show. You in, Rick?"

"You know it." Rick also got up. "Well, nice meeting you Melia."

"...Indeed." She didn't really know how people were supposed to end conversations, but it seemed successful enough; the two boys kept chattering as they walked off. With her own lunch finished, she disposed of her garbage in the same way and walked back outside.

Feeling a bit more confident with participating in the world, Melia set her sights on her second goal: "buy something". It was both unhelpfully and delightfully vague; she presumed that as long as she came back to the palace with some object, it would be considered successful. (Proving her first goal of "have lunch" successful would be as simple as not being hungry after returning.) _Given the implication that I will be keeping whatever I buy, the main question is whether to select something useful or something...leisurely._

Walking down the street, Melia cast her eyes across the various shops on either side. _I don't need clothes. I couldn't buy furniture. I probably can't afford jewelry with what I have remaining. I don't need cosmetics. I have no use for groceries. I shouldn't be buying toys._ Finally, she reached a bookstore. _This shall do nicely._

The inside of the bookstore was a light yellow saturated with the addicting smell of new books. Anticipation overtaking trepidation, Melia didn't know which way to turn first. She was provided a steady stream of books from the imperial library, but everything she'd been given recently was purely informational and not always a pleasure to read, not to mention often on worn and torn pages. It had been a long time since she had read a fresh work of fiction.

 _I don't want to take much time in making a decision,_ she thought. _I'll pick whatever first catches my eye._

Drawn towards the back wall of the store, Melia's gaze immediately latched onto one of the thicker books on the shelf: _The Count of Mt. Kristol_. Carefully sliding it off the shelf, she glanced at the island fortress on the cover and read over the summary on the back.

_Edellon Dortres leads a successful life as a merchant of the seas. But when circumstances and a trio of like-minded individuals conspire against him, he is sent to rot in prison with no reprieve but a burning desire for revenge. All that he needs to do is learn all there is to learn, escape the inescapable, and discover an unimaginable treasure, to transform him from an ordinary merchant - into the Count of Mt. Kristol._

Melia was hooked. Fictional world where multiple islands and seafaring trade made sense? Check. Plot of revenge against injustice? Check. Over fifteen hundred pages? Double check.

Moving quickly, she hefted the book onto the front counter. The cashier was somewhere in her 240's and was wearing a refined purple.

"That will be 84G."

Melia spent a bit of time sorting out the larger-denomination coins; she was pretty good at math but had never handled real money before today. She hoped she wasn't acting too inexperienced.

The cashier slid the book into a bag and handed it to Melia. "Have a nice day."

"...You too." It seemed like a sensible thing to reply.

Back outside, Melia turned back towards the transport hub and started moving at a fast walk. She couldn't wait to get back to the palace and start reading her new book, which would be welcome after whatever debriefing process she'd probably have to go through. _Still, I want to savour this, not overdo it and finish in a few days. Perhaps restrict reading to my free hour on Mondays? That seems a bit too harsh, maybe-_

"Well, look who we found."

Melia skidded to a stop. The three bullies from earlier had slipped out of an alley and stood in her path.

"So you weren't with those two other _halfies_ after all," the oily-voiced one said. "I'm not sure whether to be surprised or relieved."

Melia supposed "halfie" was a racial slur of some sort, but having never heard it before, didn't get upset over it. Attempting to simply ignore the trio, she hopped sideways and tried to exploit her tiny size by slipping past them.

"Agh!" It was clearly a trick the boys had seen before; she noticed far too late that both the ones on the ends had their legs stuck out, sending her tumbling to the ground. The trio broke into laughter.

"Think you're clever, missy? Yeah, you'll need to get up earlier than that to pull a fast one on us."

"But hey, thanks for trying, come again." The leader of the group, the one that Fred called "Brent", bent down and tore Melia's handbag away from her. "I'll just take a gate tax from your funds here and call it even. I'll even give you the pureblood discount this one time, because I'm such a nice guy."

Melia wasn't going to stand for this. Disrespect she could ignore; theivery she would not. She jumped to her feet, slapped Brent in the face as hard as she could, snatched her bag back, and started running.

"What...um...did..." It took several seconds for Brent to shake off his confusion, giving Melia a big head start. "You idiots, what are we standing around for?" The trio started chasing after her.

The streets were much emptier than earlier, giving Melia a clear shot to the transport hub. She could tell by the noise that the gang was gaining on her, but she knew they didn't have enough room to catch up to her. Coming to a stop on her target transporter pad, she turned around to see the three bullies about three seconds away, clearly committed to following her through the transporter.

Adolescent adrenaline taking over, Melia stuck a rude hand gesture into the goons' faces just before she initiated the transport. She assumed it had to be considered offensive, given various ham-handed attempts to shield her eyes from the public throwing it out many years ago, but was unclear as to what exactly it meant.

_I wish I could see their faces when they transport to Eryth Sea to find I am nowhere to be found._

Melia retracted her arm midway through the transport, hopefully early enough that no one in the palace saw it, though it was sometimes difficult to tell when exactly one's perspective switched from one side to the other. She materialized in the imperial transport room to find Sorean and Kallian still there, as if they had been waiting for her to return the entire time.

"Welcome back, Melia." Sorean looked somewhat relieved. "You seem quite excited. I trust that your excursion was successful?"

Adrenaline dying down, Melia nodded. "Yes, Fath-uh, Your Majesty. I completed both tasks asked of me."

"Excellent. Let us head back to the advisor's room, and you can tell me all about it." Sorean led the way out of the room.

Kallian said nothing, but made a pointed glance at the bagged book in Melia's hand and nodded in approval. Melia followed her father down the hallway.

* * *

Melia placed her newest acquisition on the bookshelf: _The War of the Worlds_ , a somewhat harrowing tale of a successful Mechon invasion of Alcamoth. It stood alongside _The Count of Mt. Kristol_ and _Herman and the Fudge Factory_ , a slightly more light-hearted entry mocking bad parenting and the greed of children.

Now with three excursions under her belt in the past five months, Melia's anxiety levels when out in public alone had dropped significantly, and her father was considering giving her more freedom for the next one. Indeed, she was starting to enjoy wandering around outside the palace and be treated like a normal person, something she had given up on experiencing when she was 45 or so.

Moving over to her desk, Melia opened a notebook and started writing. Returning from today's excursion, her father had suggested she keep notes about what she had told the public about herself, and review them periodically so she could keep her stories straight (even though she had yet to meet the same person twice). She decided to also take the opportunity to pre-emptively answer some other questions people might ask of her in the future. It was kind of fun creating a sort of alternate persona for herself.

_first name Melia, last name Wallace, prefers "Mel" to be distinguished from princess  
_

_mother Gwenyth Reclo, deceased Homs from Colony 9_

_father Terrence Wallace, reclused High Entian scientist, works for the government (to explain lack of address and hospitality)  
_

_no siblings, no other living relatives, have always been home-schooled  
_

_aspiring author  
_

Melia paused to consider whether she had anything else to note. _Tastes in food, personal interests, and such should need no fabrication. So that should be it for now._ She closed the notebook and slipped it into the desk drawer before glancing at the calendar on the dask, marked to count down the days left until next Wednesday. Reddel had told her that she would be learning a new, much more difficult ether art on that day, and she was both excited and worried about it.

* * *

"This new art is called Shadow Stitch," Reddel began. "When performed properly, it restricts the movement of your choice of foes surrounding you." He demonstrated by striking the ground with his staff, causing a dark field to encircle him for a few seconds. The Luxer drone that was walking in circles around him suddenly froze to a standstill and began leaning as if its ankles were affixed to the ground.

Melia, standing a safe distance away, was intrigued. She recalled her encounter with the bullies during her first excursion, and how being able to stop them from moving would have made things so much easier.

"Now you may be wondering why I have called this art quite difficult, considering that the similar Hypnotise posed little challenge to you." Reddel released the drone from the art's effect, allowing it to wander in circles once again. "The primary reason is that the art requires channelling a dark, shadowy form of ether, almost a sort of negative energy. To one of pure heart and mind such as yourself, you will undoubtedly find it challenging to control."

Having learned that confidence was a strong component of success with ether arts, Melia took the aggressive route. "I will give it my all regardless."

"That's what I like to hear. We'll start with the creation of the dark ether, and later you will learn to control it." Reddel made the motion of the art again - a solid jab into the floor. "Imagine that you have a shadow trapped within your staff, and you are trying to jar it loose. Do not be concerned about damaging the staff or the floor - it has survived far greater force than one can impart on it with bare hands."

Melia nodded and extended the Training Staff. She imagined a black cloud of smoke sitting in the center of its handle and started striking the floor, trying to get a balance between "hard enough to accomplish something" and "soft enough to keep arms from going limp". She kept tapping for about three minutes, but it was difficult for her to estimate how fast the black cloud should be moving, so she subconsciously simply had it stay in place, which made her feel like no progress was being made.

But then a minute later, she felt a cold spot in the staff's handle, the kind of scary cold one feels when shivering in fear.

 _Aha, I've found it. It must have started from the head of the staff._ She had one hand follow the cold spot down the handle as it slowly worked its way down, then let it go as she adjusted her imaginary smoke to match. A total of nine minutes since she first began, a large drop of an inky-black substance about ten centimetres in diameter dripped out of the bottom of the staff and splashed over her feet, which turned to purple whips as it evaporated.

"Ewwwwww." Melia was grossed out. She could feel an unnatural chill and disgusting smell over her feet that made them feel quite heavy, as if they had been dipped in a river full of undead corpses.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Reddel nodded. "Once you're practiced enough to summon the shadowy ether within a minute, you will be ready to learn how to control it. Now, again."

Melia started pounding away again, brushing the top of her staff to confirm that there was a cold spot forming. She wasn't much of a fan of the technique, with how slow it was at the moment combined with the nature of its effect, but at least she was doing better with it than with Spear Break.

By the end of the hour, Melia had improved her time in producing the blob of darkness to five minutes. While almost halving her time was impressive, Reddel expected it to regress between sessions, and stressed usage of the Practice Staff to help counteract it.

"While it will produce no ether, you will still feel the darkness move down the staff," he stated. "Upon completion of the art, the Practice Staff will go cold the whole way down, so you need not follow it the entire way."

Melia nodded glumly, once again disappointed at her father cutting her training sessions to once a week, which was sure to lengthen her learning of each new art by at least a factor of three. Her mood wasn't helped by the dark ether itself, which had continued to splash over her feet the whole time, generating a depressing aura in addition to the feeling she was wearing lead boots.

"Here." Reddel extracted some fudge from his vest and handed it to Melia. "Eat that straight away, it'll help throw off the negative feelings the art has draped on you."

Needing no further encouragement, Melia quickly made the fudge disappear. She wasn't sure if her mood was much lighter, but her feet certainly were.

"I shall see you next week then." Reddel took the Training Staff and began cleaning some residual darkness off its base.

"Indeed." Melia left the training room and returned to her chambers, with nothing else on her schedule before supper.

She was still feeling a little downed by her contact with the shadowy ether. "Dark ether" was one of the rare types of ether that was not a combination of the classical six, in addition to being considered naturally corruptive and evil, and as a result she never learned much about it. She started wondering why exactly she was being taught an art based on controlling it. _Sure, its ultimate effect of movement binding will be useful, but could one not accomplish similar with some sort of earth- or ice-based art?_ After spending several minutes considering the question, Melia deduced that learning an art of dark ether was supposed to be part of eventually learning at least one art of every kind of ether, and that of the non-classicals, she started with dark as it was the most difficult.

Running out of things to think about, Melia plucked _The War of the Worlds_ off the bookshelf, plopped down in her armchair, returned to her bookmark, and continued reading.


	6. Dim Detour

Working with the dark ether of Shadow Stitch was not the most pleasant way for Melia to spend the majority of her next year and a half of training. While she quickly learned how to stop splashing herself with it, having only one session each week put even more of a damper on progress than she expected, even for keeping up with her other arts.

It was relatively chilly day in February when Melia's ability to summon the shadowy ether within a minute reached consistent enough levels to move on to the second half of the art.

Reddel demonstrated the art again. "The idea is, on the final strike that deploys the ether, you imagine it spreading out in a thin circle as opposed to a concentrated blob. From there, you command it to latch onto whichever targets you see fit."

Melia looked at the row of dummies set up, with sensors at their bases set up to detect darkness, some labelled "friend" while others were "foe". She started pounding away at the floor, working the shadowy ether down to the bottom of her staff. Once she could feel it just at the tip, she gave it an extra-hard bash, imagining the drop of darkness flying outwards like a firefighter's craft dropping water on a burning house. The actual result was the drop splashing outwards at about a quarter of the desired radius, drenching her ankles.

"As with everything else, practice makes perfect." Reddel cast a powerful flashlight across the floor, alleviating most of the shadowy feeling. "The best possible result is to have the darkness travel underneath your feet without touching them, which can only be achieved through increasing the affected radius."

Melia sighed and started casting the art once more. She wasn't having a lot of fun with it, but at least it was an ether art.

* * *

_18 May Sorean 3 - THE HIGH ENQUIRY \- 3G_

**TRENSOR CONVICTED - _"The right man walks free", Ders' defendant says_**

_[Wes Valentium, Legal Correspondant]_

_After a full week of deliberation, Hector Trensor has been convicted of the murder of Sally Kert, leaving Gord Ders innocent and cleared of all charges. The year-old case marks the fourth time in the past decade that a unanimous decision has been handed out by a jury._

Melia disgustedly placed the newspaper back on the bench where she found it, not even bothering to read the rest of the front page. _Yet another mockery of the legal system, allowing the pure-blood prejudice of the public to taint a cut-and-dry case, where the authorities had not produced one iota of evidence against the one of mixed heritage._

Standing up, she turned north and continued walking up the street. She was no longer given specific objectives during her public excursions, which were planned irregularly about once every two or three months, and she had become interested in simply walking around and building up a proper familiarity with the city.

Passing by the alleyway between a barbershop and a winery, she heard what almost sounded like crying. Glancing down the alley, she saw a boy about her age backing a much younger boy, maybe 40-45 years old, into a corner. Words couldn't be made out, but the impression was that the older boy wanted something and was going to take it by force if necessary.

Melia weighed the situation. She wasn't supposed to be getting into any confrontations, but perhaps simply her presence would cause the bully to chicken out and retreat. And none of the adults passing by seemed to care in the slightest, or even notice something was going on.

The bully snatched what looked to be some sort of card from the younger boy, who covered his hands with his face and started crying.

_This cannot be allowed to continue._ Melia started quietly stepping down the alley. It wasn't long before she could make out the gloating.

"...the holographic foil casing, but that's not the main event, is it? Trust me kid, this is in far better hands than yours now, it doesn't deserve to be trapped in your grubby-"

Sneaking up behind him, Melia plucked the card out of the bully's hand and gave it a quick glance, revealing it to be a trading card. She didn't follow sports, but even she could recognize Ted Biffens, the Shooting Stars' top scorer. The card's specularity and fake 3D effect implied it was quite a rare find.

The bully was a bit slow on the uptake. "Where'd...hey, who do you think you are?"

Melia deftly flipped the card back into the young boy's hands, who was now sitting with his mouth agape. "Do not linger. Return home at once!"

The teary-eyed boy made a mad dash out of the alley. "Thanks, missy!"

Face turning from confusion to anger, the bully slowly turned to Melia. "Well aren't _you_ some goody-two-shoes."

Melia suddenly recognized the boy - he was the third of the gang she had met during her first excursion, the one who hadn't said a word at the time. _That means the other two can't be far away,_ she realized.

On cue, the other two gang members turned into the alley, looking quite pleased with themselves.

"Well, Charles, how did it go?" asked Brent, the leader. "We saw the scrawny runt high-tailing it out of here, so we figure you got a good haul off o' him."

Charles scowled. "He's got the good stuff, but this idiot here broke it up. I got nutin'."

The other two's moods soured immediately.

"This idiot here, you say?" Dev, the oily-voiced one, stretched his arms and cracked his elbows. "Would you say that this idiot here looks quite a lot like that idiot that we've been looking for for the past couple of years?"

"This idiot here? Yeah I'll say." Brent cracked his knuckles. "The one that made us look stupid about two years ago, by leading us on a wild goose chase across the middle of nowhere. You thought we'd forget about something like that? You thought we'd forget your smarmy face?"

Melia wasn't really listening to the bullies; she was busy looking for a means of escape. _There are no footholds on the walls to speak of. There is one door that leads into the winery, but it has no means of opening from this side. Now how do I look behind me without turning away from these fools?_

"What was your name, Emily or something? Ah whatever, it doesn't matter."

The gang started advancing on Melia. She was forced to back away until she hit the alley's back wall. _Wait, what's this?_ She kicked the bottom on the wall behind her, feeling a swinging grate. _This must be a maintenance duct. I can hide in here until these chumps go away, and they're too large to have any hope of following._

"Not so tough when you don't have your cheap transporter tricks, eh?"

In a single motion, Melia opened up the grating and dove inside the vent, vanishing into the darkness.

"Oh look, she's gone and trapped herself in a hole in the wall." Laughter. "We don't need to follow, we can just wait out here until she decides to show herself."

_Oh. Right. They're been looking for me for two years, just hiding in a vent won't dissuade them that easily. Hmm..._

Melia had a basic idea of how the Alcamoth maintenance duct system was structured: in the end, every duct was connected to every other duct in some fashion, so she could simply keep going deeper into the system and eventually pop out somewhere else. It was because of this that parents tended to tell their children that the ducts were a dangerous place, full of spinning fans and biological waste, simply to ward them off from trying to play inside and ending up stuck or lost.

"You can't cower in there forever, y'know. And there's three of us. We can just keep swapping out until you're ready to play nice."

Mind made up, Melia started crawling further along the pitch-black duct. She hated tight spaces, but it really wasn't that bad; there was just enough room to sit up straight if she wanted to. _Being short has its advantages I suppose._

After a few turns and inclines, she saw natural light around a corner. _Based on their comments, they think I have no escape. There's no chance of them following me to this exit._ She quickly made the turn.

And instantly fell down a vertical shaft that was invisible in the darkness.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Unable to splay herself out to slow the fall, Melia tried jamming her limbs into the walls, which did nothing but hurt. Just as she lost track of how long she had fallen for, she could feel the shaft gradually start to turn sideways. Unfortunately, she was travelling at such high speed that the instant she started sliding along the steep floor, she collapsed into a ball and started rolling uncontrollably.

"-aaaAAAaaaAAAaaaAAAaaaAAAaaaAAAaaaAAAaaa..." Melia had no idea where she was going anymore; for all she knew she was trapped in a perpetually-spinning hamster wheel. Every now and then she felt a sharp corner but couldn't even tell whether it was a horizontal or vertical turn. Running out of breath to scream with, she scrunched her face up tight and wished for it to end quickly.

It didn't take long. After about two minutes of rolling, Melia felt the tunnel end as she was projected through a hatch and into an open area, colliding with a wall. Aching all over, she slowly unrolled to find she was in some sort of control room, with monitors and control panels everywhere, being watched by two people.

The larger of the two men was first to speak. "Now who are you? Where'd you come from? Haven't your parents ever told you to stay out of the ductwork?"

Leaning against the wall, Melia slowly realized that she was probably in trouble and would need to talk her way out of it. "I...apologize for the intrusion. I was...tricked into entering the ductwork by a group of bullies in the Lumian District." She paused for a moment to decide how to explain further.

The smaller of the two men interrupted. "Wait, Lumian District? Can you be more specific?"

Confused, Melia strained to remember. "It was...an alley between a winery and a barbershop."

"Port J-56?" The man looked to a complex map on the wall and traced a route. "Seriously? You got through J Shaft? Woah." He started looking over Melia more throughly. "Pretty flexible, half-wings, just small enough to get through all the thinnest ducts. A lot older than most of the kids we find lost in the vents. And you had to have gone through tube J-12 to get here, yet there's not a scratch or a scuff on you." He turned to the other man. "You think she could give us a hand?"

The bigger man scratched his chin. "Could be just what we need. Okay then. What's your name, now?"

"...You may call me Mel." Melia wasn't sure what was going on, but it didn't seem like she was in trouble.

"Okay, Mel. I'm Jim, and this is Rob. Here's the deal. If you give us a hand with this issue we've been having, we'll send you back where you came from with no fuss. You don't help us, we'll have to turn you in for trespassing. Alright?"

Melia had never done any sort of physical labour in her life, so she didn't think she'd be able to offer anything, but she figured she might as well try. "Tell me in greater detail."

"We've been dealing with a blockage in tube F-37 for a few months now. Normally we can just blast air down the pipe and clear it out, but it's just partial enough a blockage that it's not working." Jim pointed to a thin tunnel on the map. "It's minimum gauge, so it's the hardest for us to deal with if we can't get it unstuck because we can't fit inside. What we'd like you to do is get in there and unblock it. It shouldn't take a lot of work because it's a partial blockage, so all you'll need is this." He held up a chisel about the size of Melia's lower arm. "Just poke it until it comes loose. Sound easy enough?"

Melia nodded.

"Good." Jim handed Melia the chisel and a light on a headband. "If you can roll through the system like you did when you came in here, we can save a lot of time and just propel you through the pipes. Get in the duct and we'll fire you to F-37. Once you're done, we'll be able to tell the blockage is gone, and send you back here. Any questions?"

Melia secured the light to her head. "No." She wasn't sure if she was looking forward to high-speed rolling through the tubes again - it was very scary, but quite exhilarating, and would be much less frightening when controlled.

"Okay then, good luck." Rob fiddled with a control panel, opening the hatch to the tunnel Melia had initially popped out of. She clambered inside and rolled up, carefully making sure that the chisel was safely tucked inside her grip.

A few seconds passed before the hatch closed and Melia felt air pressure build up behind her, applying gradual acceleration. After about ten seconds she was rolling along at a decent speed, slower than what she had dealt with earlier. _This is much nicer than the speed caused by my freefall._ Rolling along with her light on, she noticed a great number of T-junctions and forks that she had passed by earlier, each with valves opening and closing to direct her to her target.

Just when Melia was starting to get a little dizzy - being able to see was a disadvantage in that regard - she felt herself bump into something and stop as the airflow in the tunnel dropped to just enough to detect the clog. Unrolling and sitting up in the cramped space, she immediately recognized the problem: a baby stroller. With a shaft just above, it had clearly been slipped into the system by some idiot, and was jammed on some of the pipe's cross-bracing.

_I suppose I won't be needing the chisel then._ Melia started pushing and prodding various parts of the stroller to try and get it loose. After a few attempts, the front end came free, and it was pretty easy to get the rest of it unstuck after that. It was qutie a nice stroller, patterned in a variety of pastel-coloured swirls, and seemed fully functional. Melia idly wondered why it would have been chucked into a vent when she realized she didn't know what to do with it now that it was unstuck.

Suddenly, she could feel the wind building again, ready to propel her back to the control room. Thinking quickly, she squeezed the folded-up stroller past herself before picking up the unused chisel and rolling up - hopefully her chasing the stroller down the tunnel would be enough to stop it getting stuck again.

It seemed like it was much faster to return to the control room. Popping out of the hatch, Melia intuitively banked right and just avoided crashing into the stroller as they both hit the back wall.

"A stroller?" Rob picked it up. "That's going on the list of weird things we find in the ducts."

"Looks like it just needs a cleaning and we can sell it." Jim turned to Melia. "I know it didn't seem like much, but you really helped us out here. F-37 isn't a major tube, but it being blocked meant that F-28 was getting a lot more airflow than normal, which chain-reacts down the whole system." He idly pointed to the map on the wall as he spoke. "It's a bit complex but basically every blockage hurts. Tell you what, you can have this."

Jim reached into a cabinet on the wall and extracted a box, which was full of black bracelets. He pulled one out and handed it to Melia.

"As you probably know, the average height of us High Entians has slowly been getting taller. It's been several centuries since any of us duct guys could fit through every tube in the network. But back when we could, we used these."

Melia carefully slipped the bracelet onto her left wrist and gave it a tap as she handed the headband light and chisel back to Rob. The blackness lit up into a blue display, showing a tiny map of the entire duct network and her current position in it.

"It's called a Chozo interface, named after the guy who invented it. All you have to do is think of where you want to go, and it'll patch into the system and send you there." Jim looked at the device wistfully. "Guys like us have no hope of using it, we'd have a wing ripped off or get stuck in a junction somewhere. But you can use it to get around the city in ways no one else thinks are there. Just promise to come back here every now and then to see if we could use your help with anything."

"I shall. Thank you." Both overwhelmed at the overall situation and relieved that she wouldn't be punished for anything, Melia slipped back into the ductwork. She looked at the glowing bracelet in the darkness. _Take me to Lumian District, please_.

The map on the bracelet zoomed into the relevant portion and circled several ports. Melia tried to remember what Rob said she originally came through, so she wouldn't come out the same one. _I believe he said I started at J-56, so...J-55?_

A route was traced across the map in white. Seconds later, the system kicked into life, sending Melia through the pipes at the medium-high speed necessary to get her up the long vertical shafts. Two minutes later, and she rolled to a stop just inside a closed hatch, which she pushed open to find the back alley on the other side of the barbershop she had originally started at.

Clambering out of the duct and into the sunlight, Melia stood up and stretched, finding that she was surprisingly clean for having just spent several minutes rolling around in maintenance shafts. _That was certainly an adventure. I think it's time to go back to the palace._ Walking towards the transport hub, she looked to find the trio of goons still huddled around the hatch she had first disappeared into. The temptation to show them up was strong. _But that would just lead to another chase. Which I could easily escape again by going through the ducts, which would be endlessly entertaining, but I don't wish to attract attention. ... Though maybe I could toy with them in other ways..._

Melia walked across the street into an alley between a cheese shop and a butchershop, taking notice of some garbage bags piled within. She picked up one of the smaller bags and was immediately disgusted by the sensation of its contents. _Perfect._ She tossed the bag into the vent at the end of the alley and turned to the Chozo interface.

_Take this cargo to J-56, maximum speed, no brakes._

She watched the map as the squishy payload travelled through the pipes. Ten seconds later, the mail was delivered. Another ten seconds later, and she could see the trio running by on the street, legs covered in disgusting waste.

Melia turned off the Chozo interface and slipped it under her glove. _I should probably keep this whole thing a secret. I don't think Father would appreciate me spelunking through the duct system._

* * *

Arriving back in her chambers, Melia flopped onto her bed. It was a relief to be sitting on something soft for once, after having rolled through dozens of metal tunnels at high speed. It didn't hurt, but there was a lot of residual soreness.

After several minutes of rest, her curiosity started to bubble up. She pulled a book off the shelf titled _Alcamoth: The Miracle of Engineering_ and flipped to chapter 18: _Ventilation_. The book went into a decent amount of detail about the city's ductwork, explaining how it was originally conceived as both a ventilation system and a mail delivery network before having the mail concept quickly canned after air quality concerns, how the system had over several hundred ports and four control substations, and how the system's widest tunnels developed over time to double as maintenance access for several major areas of the city and palace.

Melia had not known that the ductwork in the palace was part of the system at large; she thought the two were completely disconnected for paranoia reasons. Intrigued, she booted up the Chozo interface, which informed her that the closest port was called A-64 - and a mere few metres away. Following its pointer, she entered her closet.

As expected for a princess, Melia had quite the expansive wardrobe. On a regular basis, the imperial tailors would add more clothes to the racks while removing the oldest ones by entering through the closet's back door, which Melia presumed connected to the palace's maintenance corridors. She had spent quite some time inside in her life, sometimes childishly looking for secret passages, but she never suspected that the vent in the ceiling would be one.

_Open the port._ The instant the thought materialized, the vent grate swung open. _I might be able to get up there with something to stand on._ She looked around and spied her two suitcases in the far corner; she never really understood why she possessed suitcases, given how she expected to live in the palace for her entire life. Stacking the suitcases under the vent and standing on them, she still couldn't leap high enough to reach the freely-swinging grate.

_That may be just as well,_ she thought as she put the suitcases back and commanded the port to close. _Being able to leave the palace at any time through an unguarded exit is folly. It would be all risk and no reward; far too tempting and far too discourteous to those who fear for my safety._

Regardless of what she kept telling herself, Melia ended up spending the rest of the day fantisizing about using the ducts to escape the palace on a regular basis, living a carefree life outside in public while returning inside just enough to keep suspicions low and all her royal obligations fulfilled. Before going to bed that night, she stuffed the Chozo interface deep into her sock drawer, where it would hopefully take enough time to get at to stop any impulsive decisions.

_Hopefully I can keep any silly exploits locked within my dreams.  
_

* * *

_"Biggest coins only! I ain't runnin' from the cops with a bag of pennies!"_

_The tellers fearfully poured masses of coins into the kingpin's sacks while his two cronies waved their ether pistols around, keeping the cowering customers in check._

_"That's the lot then?" The boss scowled as the cash reserves ran dry. "Eh whatever, it's good enough for us! C'mon boys, let's make a break for it!"_

_"You shall do no such thing!" The voice echoed through the very walls of the bank._

_"Oh yeah?" The boss cocked his ether shotgun. "I ain't afraid of no voice! You gonna try and stop us, or just talk big?"_

_A white ball blasted out of the vent behind the teller and landed directly on one of the accomplices' heads. The ball unfurled before it hit the ground to reveal Melia, dressed in a pristine white tuxedo, bearing a silver cannon on her left arm._

_"The Ventilator," spat the boss in disgust. "Fancy seeing your posh patoot stoop down to come after me."_

_"No crime is beneath my notice." Melia fired a pulse of air out of the cannon, blasting the second accomplice into the wall. "Though I do quite enjoy dealing with the small-time scoundrels."_

_"You picked the wrong guy to call "small-time"!" The boss aimed and pulled the trigger, but Melia was already gone, vanishing into the same vent she appeared from. Mere seconds later she popped out of one on the opposite wall._

_"Your flitting around doesn't impress me!" The boss loaded another shot and prepared to fire._

_"What about_ your _flitting?"_

_"What?"_

_Melia pointed her cannon at a vent on the ceiling. It opened up and sucked up the criminal headfirst, leaving his fat belly stuck on the rim and his tiny legs dangling through the port._

_"We shall see how long it takes for the police to extract you from that prison in order to throw you into another."_

_The bank customers gave off a smattering of applause as the cops filed into the building. "Three cheers for The Ventilator!"_

Melia woke with a start as thunder exploded outside. The clock read one-thirty in the morning.

She took a few moments to calm herself down but then remembered the dream. _That was highly entertaining. I'm not letting it go to waste._ Crawling out of bed, she stepped over to her desk, turned the light on, and extracted her notebook.

_The Ventilator_ , she began writing, _is a superhero whose power is focused on the ductworks of Alcamoth. Clad in pure white and armed with a cannon that not only fires pulses of compressed air, but allows ultimate control over every vent, port, and tunnel in the city for transportation and various other utilities. Disguised with a helmet, none know the Ventilator's true identity - or even gender - except her brother._

Satisfied that this was enough of a reminder for her creative writing itch next Monday, Melia climbed back into bed and hoped to watch a sequel.


	7. Aqua

"Excellent as usual," Reddel applauded. "I think we can finally place this art into the "always successful" category, well done."

Melia watched as the effects of her Shadow Stitch snared all of the even-numbered drones, leaving the odd-numbered ones unaffected. The art didn't last for very long, but she could cast it in only three to five staff motions and had mastered target selection.

"Now that you've got another ether art under your belt, I think it's time for something that I suspect you'll enjoy quite a bit more." Reddel smiled broadly. "Next week, I'll be teaching you about a third elemental."

Melia's eyes lit up. Elementals had taken a back seat for so long that she had quite forgotten there was still four of them to be learned.

"I'll keep exactly which one a surprise for now." He gestured to the door. "See you next week."

* * *

Melia would have liked to spend the rest of the week guessing at which elemental could be coming next, and possibly seeing if she could squeeze a sensation out of her Practice Staff for it. But the early-December week became unexpectedly busy. She was just finishing her last growth spurt, having grown five centimetres in the past year, and as a result was going through a lot of wardrobe upheaval. Coinciding with this, it was finally decided that she was just too weak physically for someone her age, and was "prescribed" a pair of physical activities.

Monday and Thursday, it was tennis. Melia couldn't complain too much about this; the sport was mostly short bursts of movement with racket-swinging mixed in, which she recognized as being potentially similar to the kinds of motions she'd make in battle with a staff. She also found it quite entertaining to frustrate her instructor with her ambidexterousness, never being forced to make a backhand. But she couldn't stand the feeling of sweating all over, far more than any other action she'd ever done, and getting legs crossed and falling over onto the hard court was a frequent occurrance.

Tuesday and Friday was worse: endurance swimming. Melia didn't mind swimming on principle, but had quite the conflicting mindset concerning attire. Under normal conditions, she was a willing ally of the decree "the child princess shall bare no skin", flat-out refusing to wear anything more revealing than elbow-length sleeves and knee-length skirts (and even then would supplement them with long gloves and socks). Yet when it came to swimming, she was equally intolerant to bathing suits, consistently balking at even the most water-appropriate fabrics. The imperial tailors, obviously unaware of this disparity, provided her with almost wetsuit-like garments that reached out to her wrists and ankles. As a result, swimming back and forth across the imperial pool felt far more like a chore than an enjoyable activity.

In addition to the general soreness that the sudden start to these physical activites was causing, disturbing news was relayed to the royal dinner table Tuesday evening.

"A siege?" Sorean was surprised; Mechon were not known to do anything aside from direct attacks.

"Of a sort." The advisor kept reading the scout's report. "Approximately a dozen Mechon have overtaken the Trevsieg Tunnels, killing any who stray too close. With no other routes leading to Colony 7, it has been effectively shut off from all other Homs settlements."

"But Colony 7 is self-sufficient," interjected Kallian. "What could they hope to achieve with a blockade that far out?"

Sorean figured it out quickly. "Isolation. By keeping communications cut, eventually the other colonies will assume the worst and cease attempts to investigate. For Colony 7, morale will drop once they realize they are trapped with no means of escape. And the tunnels are complex enough to support a military installation, which can be constructed with impunity."

"An impressive plan to be sure," said Yumea, "but why not simply attack the colony and destroy it directly, as they have done to all the others?"

"It is indeed a far more long-term and tactical approach than we have seen from any Mechon, for no apparent advantage." Sorean turned to the advisor. "Post a constant vigil on Colony 7. I wish to remain informed on this situation for as long as it continues. Secrecy is paramount."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Melia watched the advisor bow and exit the hall. She knew that Colony 7 was somewhere on the Bionis' lower left leg, but keeping maps on that area was not a priority, so she couldn't picture the situation. With the other three family members continuing to discuss the Mechon's tactics in terms above her, she kept eating and idly wondered why the Mechon had skipped Colony 6, a much more convenient location to attack and occupy.

* * *

All things considered, Melia ended up forgetting that she was to learn a new elemental until she reached the door of the training room on Wednesday. The realization immediately improved her mood, as she eagerly stepped inside and took up the Training Staff, summoning and dispelling a bolt and flare just for fun.

"Ready to begin, I see," Reddel said. "Considering your natural affinity for the subject, let's see how well you can do with nothing more than the name of the elemental."

Melia stood ready. _I already know bolts and flares. The four remaining classical elements are water, earth, wind, and ice. The question is, will it be one of the easier or harder ones?_

"Summon an aqua."

 _Water, the source of all life, and the blanket of the world below._ Melia started focusing on a stormy ocean, with torrential rains and crashing waves. But she could quickly tell that something was wrong: she couldn't feel any sensation from her staff, no indication that her thoughts were imparting any watery energy. She tried upping the severity of the mental storm, adding more rain and higher waves, but still couldn't detect any results. The strain and confusion on her face were evident. After a solid two minutes of trying to squeeze something out, she went limp.

"Do not be disappointed," Reddel spoke. "You have simply fallen into the classic novice trap. One hundred percent of my students have been fooled in the exact same way."

Melia responded to this comment with perhaps the most passive-aggressive straight face staredown in history.

Reddel couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry about it. Here, let me show you the desired result." He summoned a ball of water over his head.

Melia stared at the liquid elemental. It certainly projected a different kind of energy than she was used to - simply being near it made her feel more relaxed and reinvigorated, as opposed to the tense and aggressive energies that bolts and flares generated.

"Aquas are not an elemental of offensive power, but of healing and support. They cannot be summoned by focusing on the destructive properties of water - instead, you have to focus on its calming influence, its revitalizing effects."

Still miffed about the trap but recognizing that the explanation made sense, Melia held her staff aloft again and started wondering what exactly to focus on to generate such feelings. After a bit of consideration she settled on the sensation of a hot shower after a stressful day, and started focusing.

It took about ten seconds of concentration for the first hint of success: the staff's handle started feeling damp, as if it had recently been retrieved from a warm pool. Melia kept focusing, eyes closed. It didn't really feel like the sensation was getting that much stronger - although it was becoming more lifelike, in terms of making her gloves feel wet.

 _Certainly more challenging than the two I already know,_ she started thinking. _It makes sense to throw a hard one into the mix early rather than wait until later...what was that?_

Melia broke concentration and opened her eyes, looking down at ther feet. A thin film of water was running down her staff and dripping onto her shoes.

"Er..." She moved the staff enough to stop dripping on her feet, but the damage was done; her socks were completely soaked.

"Indeed, that can happen," Reddel noted. "As the embodiment of a physical liquid as opposed to an energetic plasma, it is slightly more difficult to contain the elemental in a compact form. There is no real trick to doing so; you simply have to ensure that your summoning energy remains in a single place, instead of having it leak out before completion."

Melia tried again. It was harder to concentrate on the mental sensation of the shower with her eyes open, but after fifteen seconds she could feel the water building up again. She spotted a leak and focused on making it retreat, which was successful but delayed the main summoning. More leaks appeared over the next several seconds, all of which were taken care of without much delay. After a minute and a half, she finally felt the release of energy that signified success, and looked up to see the aqua sitting in the head of the staff.

"Very good," Reddel commented, as Melia mentally plucked the elemental out of the webbing and hovered it down to eye level. "Incidentally, aquas are the most temperamental of all elementals when it comes to environment, in that the ease of summoning them is strongly based on the ambient humidity. To contrast, flares are slightly harder to summon at low temperatures, while bolts have no such swing."

Melia sent the water elemental flying at a distant target, where it impacted with a satisfying splash and evaporated. She then got to work on summoning a second one, her wet gloves and socks becoming more irritating by the minute. Eighty seconds later, with the new aqua created, she brought up a bolt and flare to sit alongside, creating a rather impressive-looking lineup of elementals.

 _This would look good on the cover of a book,_ she pondered as she held the three balls of energy above her head in her favoured pyramid formation. _Perhaps a biography, with some pun on the "great power from small packages" phrase in the title._

Reddel interrupted her introspection. "As for the properties of the elemental, it is quite weak as a method of directly damaging opponents. Instead, its strength is in regeneration: it passively casts a healing energy over all nearby allies, and striking a foe with it steals some of its vitality and delivers it directly to you."

Melia was intrigued by the concept, but not enthused about the implications. _That means I'll have to be injured in order to be tested on it. Not fun._

"With that in mind, may I introduce your latest training partner." Reddel directed Melia to a covered device near the right wall and removed the covering, revealing a large clear tank half-full of a pearlescent pink fluid connected to a dull metal tank and a wrist-sized cloth band. "This collection of tanks and valves contains a kind of ether that allows you to practice manipulation of vitality without risking injury to either party. For example, you can donate some of your energy via the wristband and then use your aqua discharge to steal it back. I don't recommend you try it until you have your aqua summoning ability down pat, but just to let you know it's here."

 _So no injury, but still unlikely to be pleasant._ Melia eyed the compilation of tanks. _I wonder what would happen if I used this system to bring me over my natural maximum for vitality. An injection of extra energy? Negative interference feedback? Or just nothing? I'm sure I'll find out later._

* * *

**_COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION_ **

_28 March Sorean 4  
_

_Evaluator: Keldon, James_

_PERSONAL INFORMATION_

_Name: Antiqua, Melia  
_

_Gender: F_

_Race: High Entia father, Homs mother_

_D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 72)_

_Height: 150cm_

_Weight: 46.3kg_

_Specialization: Ether staff_

_STATISTICS_

_Note: Due to low magnitude, all provided values are estimates. Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale._

_Physical Strength: **5** Some combination of Melia's recently-begun physical activities and her final growth spurt has added a healthy amount of improvement in this category. Maintain existing course.  
_

_Ether Attunation: **21** Progressing as expected, with no major abnormalities to note.  
_

_Agility: **7** Melia remains somewhat clumsy, but this does not seem to be affecting her physical speed.  
_

_Resilience: **42** A much healthier value for someone of her age and stature, though still firmly on the low side.  
_

_Overall Combat Level: **~0.43** As noted in previous reports, this value overestimates her combat statistics while underestimating her arts.  
_

_ARTS_

_Elemental Discharge: **A+** Burst aura now activates in 18 discharges, though some irregularity has been noted when discharging dissimilar elementals in quick succession. Nothing else needs to be said; Melia's elemental skills remain unmatched.  
_

_Summon Bolt: **A-** Summoning time varies between 3 and 4 seconds, with the bolt dealing comparatively extreme damage to targets. It should be noted that progress in summoning speed has levelled off quite a bit for this and other elementals.  
_

_Summon Flare: **A-** Summoning time varies between 4 and 5 seconds_ _, with the ability to detonate the flare at will in addition to on contact.  
_

_Summon Aqua: **C** Summoning time varies between 60 and 80 seconds, with noted difficulty containing leaks. Once the aqua is fully summoned, it responds as perfect as her other two elementals._

_Burst End: **C+** The defensive drop of this art is now strong enough to be noticed by a casual observer, though it is still minimal enough to be mostly ineffective. Signs also point to Melia learning how to not dump her entire burst aura into a single usage, though she is still far from being able to maintain it.  
_

_Hypnotise: **B-** Casting time varies between 10 to 15 seconds, and can withstand minor interruptions.  
_

_Shadow Stitch: **B-** Summoning time ranges between 5 and 10 seconds, and Melia is able to easily control which targets are affected. At this point, the art's main weakness is its very short duration, which only practice can solve._

_Spear Break: **F** Despite her newfound physical prowess, Melia remains completely unable to break targets for whatever reason. Perhaps there is a subconscious mental barrier in place.  
_

_Overall Arts Grade: **C** With learning a third elemental at a more typical beginner's pace, like all her non-elemental arts, it has become clear that Melia has exhausted her unnatural head start. At this rate, it is expected for her to earn a personal staff at the age of 80, a healthy ten years ahead of the average.  
_


	8. Defiance

It could not have been a drearier Wednesday in May. The sky was blanketed in grey clouds all day yet with no sign of rain, while a cold wind howled everywhere.

Inside the training room, Melia was letting off steam from yet another half hour of failing at Spear Break by directing a summoned aqua to dance around the room, Reddel monitoring from a chair to the side. In the last year and a half, she had succeeded in eliminating all the pesky leaks of the summoning process, and was almost as proficient with it as her original two summons. On the other hand, Spear Break continued to be one hundred percent ineffective, aside from whatever minor damage it inflicted.

After five minutes of spectacle, Reddel interrupted. "I think that's enough of a break."

Disappointed, Melia dispelled the elemental and focused back on the Luxel drone. However, before she could resume practice, a guard walked into the room, orderly but clearly with an urgent job.

Reddel stood up. "Yes, what is it?"

"We need to accompany princess Melia to her dentist's appointment."

Instructor and student shared a worried glance, both recognizing the code phrase for "security breach". "Very well," said Reddel, "let's get you over there."

Melia nodded. She was about to lay the Practice Staff against the wall when there was a _thwhip_ sound, followed by a dart appearing in the guard's neck. A mere second later, a second dart appeared in Reddel's arm.

The guard collapsed quickly, while Reddel pulled the projectile out of his arm and sniffed it. "Not poison, probably tranquilizer." He turned to Melia but slumped over onto the floor before he could say any more.

With both adults in the room incapacitated, the unseen attacker leapt out from behind a pile of mats and blocked Melia's path to the exit. She looked just like Melia imagined a lunatic civilian assassin would look like: athletic build, black cloak, trained wings, and a crazed grin.

"Well that's just a _shame_ ," she uttered, her uncultured voice full of taunting, "having to use the dart with your name on it to get rid of that silly guard. I guess my _partner's_ distraction was just a _bit_ too obvious." She shed her cloak, revealing a tan leotard and a belt full of knives. "Looks like I'll have to deal with you the _fun_ way!"

Melia tried to shake off her fear paralysis as she watched the assassin select a pair of daggers with blood-red handles. _Summoning bolts is the fastest thing I can do._ She started to prepare the electric elemental, but the attacker was already on her, and she had to break her concentration to raise her staff in defense.

"Too _slow_ to ready yourself?" The assassin started making a series of extravagent slashes, more for spectacle than anything, and Melia only just blocked each one. "You're lucky I enjoy _playing_ with my food, or we'd already have quite a _mess_ on our hands!"

Melia knew she was in trouble. She had to dedicate all her focus just to react to the attacks, never mind try to run for positioning or attack back.

"Since we're about to become _entrenched_ in history together, why not get to _know_ each other? _My_ name is Hillary Glenbrook." She slashed her right dagger upwards at Melia's chin with an intentional near miss. "Of course, no need to tell me who _you_ are. Melia Antiqua, the misguided _prat_ of Sorean's, who couldn't stop _chasing_ some Homs broad despite knowing her _inferiority_!" Spinning around, she launched a kick at Melia's hip, which connected with staff and staggered both parties.

Sensing an opportunity, Melia shifted her grip to the bottom end of the staff and made a backhanded swipe towards her assailant's head. It was a complete whiff, forcing her to clumsily roll across the floor to avoid the retaliatory slash.

"You're not very good at this _physical_ stuff, are you?" Hillary allowed Melia to stand up before continuing the assault. Each deflected blade left dents in both the Training Staff's handle and Melia's morale.

 _If I can...just summon... a single...bolt..._ Melia's thoughts were fragmented as she constantly blocked the accelerating onslaught of attacks. The back of her mind was hoping for guards to come bursting into the room at any moment.

"You _do_ know how to speak, correct?" The taunting was ceaseless. "You have _functional_ vocal chords? Or is that just as _broken_ as your other _pureblood_ genes?"

Melia refused to dignify the attacker with a response. Her only goal was survival until help arrived. At this point, getting a single hit in would be a bonus.

"Well, if you're not going to _join_ me in conversation, I see no reason to keep this going for much longer." With a powerful flip kick, Hillary sent the staff clean out of Melia's hands, landing near the exit. "But I _do_ ever like giving people fun choices to make before they die, so here's _yours_ : Are you going to run and _cower_? Or try to get past _me_ to your stick?"

Frozen in fear, Melia started trying to work out a plan of escape. She knew of no secret exits in the room; the only vent visible was in the top corner where she couldn't reach it. If she ran into the back half, she could possibly slip by the assassin by weaving around obstacles, but the distance she'd need to cover might be long enough to get caught.

"I don't have _all_ day, you know. How about I count to 10, and then _cut_ the first _slice_ of my victory cake? 1... 2... 3..."

A potential plan occured to Melia. It was quite risky, since she'd have to dash right past the enemy, but it seemed like her only choice. She tried to keep looking scared stiff while waiting for a good time to go.

"4... 5... 6... 7..."

Melia bolted sideways towards Reddel's limp body. Momentarily confused about the choice of direction, Hillary ended up giving her a good few seconds of head start before giving chase.

Arriving at Reddel's side, Melia grabbed onto his staff and started lifting it. It was significantly heavier than she expected, being a foot taller than she was and made of holkwood, but she eventually got to a standing position with the help of adrenaline. Slowly swinging the big staff around to face her attacker, she caught the two blades by the hilts as they came down, knocking her onto her backside.

Leaning over Melia with weapons locked, Hillary lost her crazed grin for the first time. "Clever girl. 'Course, that thing's way too big for you, isn't it? All I need is to open up your arm and no more big stick for you!" She tried to get her daggers free, but Melia was using the staff's weight to her advantage, keeping the blades' curved crossguards locked onto the staff's handle.

After a few seconds of struggling, another idea came to Melia's mind - a far more dangerous one that she didn't know if she could even pull off. Riding on the high of her first plan succeeding, she started focusing on summoning a flare. It appeared in the swirls at the head of the staff surprisingly quickly.

Hillary scoffed, still trying to get her daggers free. "I call your bluff. You wouldn't dare detonate that at close ran-"

Melia pushed the staff forwards, unlocking the daggers while lobbing the flare into her attacker's face. The subsequent explosion blasted the combatants away from each other and set them both ablaze.

With a tight grip on the heavy staff, Melia stood back up before realizing that the burning hurt quite a bit more than she expected, and that instead of "considerable" pain she was in "rather extreme" pain. Keeping her hands and face clenched shut, she made a mad dash towards the back of the room, leaving the assassin to uselessly attempt putting out the magical fire by rolling around. Upon reaching her destination, the sprinklers in the rear half of the room immediately activated, drenching Melia while leaving her opponent untouched.

Still in major pain but no longer actively burning, Melia reluctantly realized that her soggy clothes would be an impediment to movement, and so quickly removed her shoes, socks, gloves, and overcoat. By the time her arms and legs were free, Hillary had realized that half the room was wet, and was now running her way. Now with the advantage of time, Melia summoned a bolt, and prepared to throw it at the enemy.

But the assassin had thrown something first. A knife flew through the air and slashed open Melia's right bicep.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Melia unconsciously dropped Reddel's staff and fell to her knees, clutching her arm. The pain was unimaginable. The summoned bolt fell out of the staff and sat on the floor, arcing electricity around the puddle it landed in.

With fresh burns all over her body, Hillary strode up to Melia with contempt on her face. "I must admit, I didn't think you'd have that much fight in you. But like I said, all I need is one hit to stop you." She picked the bloody knife up off the floor. "And one more to finish you."

Wading through the intense pain, Melia stared at her enemy and focused her entire mind on the ball of lightning lying nearby. Only dimly aware of her surroundings, she put everything she had left into one more action.

"I REFUSE TO SUBMIT TO A NOBODY!"

Taking her bloodied left hand off her fresh wound, Melia pointed at the heart of her assassin. The summoned bolt shot off the floor and struck true, blasting the assailant backwards into a hanging punching bag.

There was a clattering of feet as no fewer than twenty guards stormed into the room. Someone started barking orders. Melia wasn't really paying attention. No longer with the energy to sit up, she fell forwards into a pool of what was hopefully water and blacked out.

* * *

_The world was a black void, filled with an endless array of stars._

_Melia realized she was already standing up. She looked down at her body, covered in torched clothes and burns of various severity, and with a large gash in her right arm. There was no pain or blood, only the stench of burnt hair and feathers._

_She strained to recall what had just happened._ My arm was cut, and I fired a bolt, and then many people entered the room. But then what?

 _With no memory beyond that point, and the curious situation she currently found herself in, the obvious answer came to mind._ I refuse to believe I died from a simple cut to the arm.

_"Good, good." An unknown voice filled the world. It was both familiar and foreign; loud enough to come from everywhere at once, but quiet enough that its identity was a mystery. "Refusal to accept an untimely death is the first step towards defying it."_

_"Who's there? Show yourself!"_

_"I will show myself...in time. For now, simply know that your success in this...unexpected task is a sign of greater things to come."_

_The world suddenly faded to black once more._

* * *

Melia woke up. Eyes still closed, she could sense the room was quite bright and the bed she was in was significantly less cushy than the one in her chambers, ruling out the possibility that everything that had just happened was all a highly-realistic dream. Her sense of touch slowly started coming back to her; while most of her body felt pretty much normal and pain-free, her entire upper right arm felt like it was encased in a block of ice. It approached the line between "uncomfortable" and "painful", making her wince.

"...Melia? Are you awake?" Kallian's voice came from directly to her left.

Not looking forward to speaking or opening her eyes, Melia responded with a nod. The cold on her arm felt like it was getting stronger.

"Send for the Emperor," Kallian ordered. Someone hurried away.

Melia opened her eyes very slowly, dragging them out of the dark into the bright light. Kallian was sitting as close as he could get on her left side, while a doctor was standing to her right, monitoring the device that was wrapped around her injured arm. A single guard was the only other one currently in the ward, though she suspected many more were just outside. She couldn't see any of herself aside from her right arm, but she could feel that all the burns were gone, although alongside a noticeable amount of hair and feathers.

"How does your arm feel?" the doctor asked.

"...It does not hurt." _Although it may begin to if this device has to stay active for much longer._

"Good. At the present rate, it should be completely healed in approximately ten hours."

Melia's head, which had been slowly inching upwards, flopped back onto the pillow. She didn't want to spend the next half-day laying idle with an icy grip on her arm. Her energy was gone, but she had a deep-rooted desire to do something, anything at all.

A second guard entered the room, followed immediately by Sorean, with a look of immense relief on his face.

 _Oh boy_ _,_ Melia thought as he started speaking. _Time for a heap of empty platitudes and false emotion. I'm not listening to this tripe._ Sometimes she honestly believed that her father saw her as a burden, an unnecessary addition to the royal family that consumed extra resources while being nothing but "princess for life". She knew that the various laws and rules put a massive damper on his ability to express himself to her, but it didn't reduce the jilted feeling.

"...Hello? Melia? Were you listening?" Kallian interrupted her self-imposed misery binge. "You were asked what happened."

"...oh." Speaking slowly, Melia started to recount what had happened, from the adults being ambushed to the nature of the fight and the eventual final blows. It was almost harder to talk about than it was to fight, though at least when talking there was no opponent.

Sorean's face was hard to read once the story was finished. "I must once again commend you for your courage and ingenuity in this unforseen situation. I freely admit that I would have been unable to succeed in your place when I was your age."

Melia didn't believe this for an instant.

"Now, I'm sure you want to hear the other half of the story," began Kallian. "At about two-thirty, the guards caught someone making a fuss up near the astronomy tower. He freely identified himself as an assassin with a hidden partner, so safety protocols were initiated: gather all the imperial family in the lockdown room under heavy guard while the guards search the palace. We were just reaching the time limit for you to arrive when someone reported that the sprinklers in the training room had been activated. A contingent was sent to investigate. Upon arriving, they saw you fall unconscious and immediately sent for medical aid. Your attacker was quickly subdued, with not much effort I was told, and was thrown in the dungeons far from her accomplice."

"Both of them glady and independently confessed their method," continued Sorean. "They flew into the palace in the cloudy darkness last night, hiding in the gardens. Before daybreak, they split up and each travelled to locations where they thought you likely to be, each planning to act as distraction for the other should either be discovered. While I have my doubts about the possibility of this explanation for their intrusion, I see no reason for them to lie about it, and will take the appropriate measures to prevent such a recurrence. As for motive, they claim nothing but a hatred of all half-bloods, and planned to start a reign of terror with you. Who is to say whether they have rational enough minds to grasp the aftermath of their potential actions."

Melia twisted her head sideways towards the clock on the wall, which read almost five. _I'm going to be stuck in here until tomorrow morning, aren't I._

"If you will excuse me," the doctor interjected, "the princess needs rest for maximum effectiveness of the healing procedure."

"Yes, of course." Sorean nodded and turned towards the exit. "I will inform the kitchens to deliver here. Kallian, I wish to speak with you privately. Take care, my princess."

Kallian reluctantly followed Sorean out of the room, taking the guards with him.

Melia looked back at the clock. Still more than nine and a half hours to go with a frozen arm. She looked down at the healing device, a while tube encrusted with several water and ice gems. A slider was also visible, suggesting the device was at about three-quarter power. She began to move her left hand towards it, but caught the doctor's attention.

"Is the freezing sensation too strong? Would you like it to be reduced? Of course, doing so will slow the healing rate."

The decision was instant. "Turn it up to full power."

The doctor frowned and looked at a status panel. "Are you quite sure? Doing so would cut the healing time by a factor of four, but also reduce the perceived temperature by approximately twenty degrees."

"Do it."

"...Very well." The doctor slowly raised the slider up to its maximum.

The coldness on Melia's arm felt like it was magnified by a factor of ten, colder than anything she'd experienced before. Manging to keep a straight face while grinding her teeth together, she gave a curt nod to the doctor and closed her eyes again. It still hurt less than it did when it was slashed.

* * *

When Melia was released fully-healed just before eight o'clock, she quickly began wishing she had instead chosen to take it slowly and stay in for the night. She couldn't take a step without being blanketed by six guards, all the palace windows were closed and curtained, and all her privileges and schedule had been blanked until further notice. Retreating to her bedroom, effectively the only place outside the dining hall she was now allowed to go, she threw herself down on the bed and started grumbling about how long it might take for life to return to normal.

Rolling over, the Practice Staff caught her eye, as it usually did with its glaring orange hue. It was sitting on the floor next to the bed, having slid down off the wall it had been leaning against. She picked it up and stared through the hole at its tip.

 _A whole eight years of training, and I still can't defend myself against a single attacker._ The thought began repeating itself over and over again, becoming louder each time. _Eight years, one attacker, utter failure. My father probably wouldn't have been injured. My brother could take her out with only one arm! If I'm supposed to be some ether prodigy, why could I only get TWO HITS IN?!_

Starting to rage a bit, Melia chucked the staff across the floor, where it clattered into the wardrobe door. Her thoughts morphed into an incomprehensible mess as she started beating on pillows. Within seconds her bed was a war zone, with all its soft elements strewn everywhere. She continued to vent until her limbs were sore and she collapsed face-first into the pile of blankets on the floor.

Slowly regaining control of herself, Melia groggily looked at the mess she had created. _...This is going to take a while to fix._ She slowly started to get up and put things back in order. Keeping her room tidy was one of the few chores she was expected to do, not that the cleaners wouldn't do it for her if she left things alone for long enough.

_Actually, I should just go to bed. I'm tired and have nothing to do._

Melia normally didn't go to bed until about ten-thirty, but the realization of how tired she was made it feel like midnight. Not even bothering to drop her clothes down the laundry chute, she was in her nightgown and fast asleep in five minutes.

Of course, sleep was not a sanctuary. Her dreamcatcher couldn't hold a candle to the immense power of the day's events. She was murdered thirteen times that night.

* * *

It was three weeks before Melia was allowed to resume her ether staff training. As usual, she arrived right on time to find Reddel waiting for her.

"Well, it's been a little while, hasn't it?" he began. "How about you get back into the swing of things on your own."

Melia picked up the Training Staff. She ran her fingers down the handle, feeling the dagger marks the assassin had left behind.

_Eight years. One attacker. Utter failure._

It was hardly the first time since the incident she had been reminded of it, but it was the first time returning to the scene of the crime. Indignance started to well up again; if there was one thing she could say she hated above all else, it was failure.

A flare appeared in her staff without even thinking about it. Surprised but still primarily upset, she launched it into a blank patch of wall.

_See? That was trivial. Why couldn't you do that before, eh? WELL?_

Angered, Melia swung her staff forwards, summoning and casting a bolt in a single motion that knocked over a dumbbell stand. She aimed at something else, blowing the top mat off a pile and sending it flying. Fuelled by a chain reaction of rage, she fired random elementals in various directions until her burst aura appeared, followed by jamming her staff into a dummy's chest and detonating Burst End, scattering the dummy across the room.

Melia turned her attention to the Luxel lazily sauntering around the room. Rearing back, she speared it in the knee with more force than she had ever applied before. It slid backwards about two metres and started limping, still fully stable but with impaired speed.

The result of the attack stunned Melia out of her angry trance. _What was that?_ She watched as the drone shortly shook off the injury and started walking at full speed again. _That wasn't a break, but it was certainly something new._ She tried poking it in the knee again. While she couldn't match the power of the previous attack, it had the same result: a temporary limp.

"Intriguing." Reddel seemed about as confused as Melia was. "You have somehow steered your Spear Break towards slowing foes' movements rather than breaking their stance."

"I assume this is a bad thing?"

"Well...not entirely. It is likely that the effect will interfere with your efforts to learn how to break opponents, but once you pass that point, having an art of multiple effects is always welcome."

 _Just what I need, another challenge in learning this stupid thing._ Frustrated, Melia kicked the limping Luxel, knocking it over. _I should have just went with Rod Bruise, no need to muck with stances or anything._

"As long as you can harness your emotion correctly," Reddel stated, "you will have no trouble eventually succeeding in whatever you do."

Melia was starting to calm down. _That's it, isn't it. Emotion is the key. Fear crippled me; anger propelled me. I need to channel rage without actually being angry; I need to have righteous indignation on command._ She looked towards the spot across the room where she was slashed; there was no evidence of a confrontation having occurred. _Well, at least I have some powerful ammunition on that front._


	9. Donation

Melia's brush with death wound up being a powerful catalyst for her training. In the following four months, she had doubled the power of Shadow Stitch's and Burst End's effects, reached the point where juggling three elementals at once was effortless, and turned Spear Break into a reliable tool for slowing enemies' movements - though she remained firmly unable to actually break them. It did not take long for Reddel to determine she needed something new.

"Now that you are proficient at stealing vitality from foes, it is time to learn how to donate it to allies."

Reddel closed his eyes for a second and placed a hand on his chest, followed by pulling a bright pink cluster of energy the size of his hand out and softly tossing it into the vitality tank.

"This art is called Healing Gift, replenishing some of a friend's energy at the expense of some of your own. It completes a sort of trio of healing methods: the slow regeneration of an aqua's aura, the instant personal boost of a discharged aqua, and the donation of vitality to a needing ally. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and can indeed be combined for stronger effect."

Melia nodded. She was used to the exhausting feeling of having energy lost to the vitality tank as part of training her aqua discharge, and figured this would be more of the same.

"This is likely to be the most difficult art for you to learn thus far, due to one primary reason, and you may have noticed it already: it is not a staff art. You may certainly control the art with your staff, but it plays no part in the process. It is an art purely of the mind, and many students have trouble making the initial leap."

Melia didn't think this was likely to be a problem, given her strong mental control of elementals. _In fact, perhaps I should try and think of the process as summoning a sort of "health elemental"._

"The process of using the art is rather straightforward: simply attempt to extract a portion of your health and vitality from yourself with intent of donating it to one who needs it. Do not worry about overdoing it; it is not possible to cause any kind of permanent injury to yourself with it. Perhaps minor fainting at worst. Now, how about you give it a try."

Without staff in hand, Melia mimicked the motion of closing eyes and putting hand to chest, trying to get into the right mindset. _There is an injured man on the ground. I need to heal him so he may live._ With the scenario in mind for several seconds, she started slowly pulled her hand away, but felt nothing and so pushed it back. _Again. This man is going to die if nothing is done. No other help is coming. I am his only hope for survival._ She tried again a few more times and still felt nothing. _Okay that's not working. Perhaps something more...personal?_

Suddenly, the nameless man in her mind turned into Kallian, with numerous wounds all over. The scene's realism also spiked up a notch, opening up into a battleground with dozens of Mechon bodies strewn about.

Shocked by the unintentional power of her imagination, Melia's eyes clamped shut even harder. _I'll save you, brother!_ Sensing a great emotion in her chest, she reached inside and pulled out what felt like a giant blob of warm slime. She opened her eyes to find that the pink vitality cluster in her hand was blindingly bright and twice the size of her head.

"Er...perhaps I overdid..."

Having accidentally extracted far too much of her own energy, Melia passed out and crumpled to the floor. The vitality cluster slowly floated down and landed on her limp body, re-absorbing itself into her. It took a whole five minutes for her to recover, rolling over and feeling dizzy.

"Once again, you surprise me," Reddel said. "All of my previous students would have problems extracting the smallest parcel of vitality from themselves, yet your first success is near the theoretical upper limit of the art's potential. It is going to be a challenge for you to reduce your level of execution, to effectively learn the art backwards, to a more traditional level."

Melia was not looking forward to basically repeatedly fainting until she learned how to avoid it, but it was nice to know that it was still basically successful.

* * *

It was nearing the end of October. Melia sat alone at the table for breakfast; as royal business opened at eight o'clock, whereas her schedule typically began at nine or ten, she usually had breakfast an hour later than the rest of the imperial family. It was a double-edged sword; while she appreciated having meals free of listening to royal problems, she suspected that her absence made it too easy for the rest of the family to talk about her.

Once she was finished her breakfast, Melia turned out of the dining hall to find Kallian jogging towards her.

"Ah, perfect timing." He stopped his half-run on a dime. "There has been a change of your plans for today. Collect your public headdress and go to the Northwestern Advisor's Room. I am to follow you."

 _Whatever this is, it can't be anything good._ Melia was planning to return to her room anyway, but not as preparation for leaving the palace. She started walking a bit faster than normal, eager to get whatever it was over with.

Upon reaching her chambers, Kallian waited outside as Melia took her headdress off the shelf allocated for it. She disliked pretty much everything about it, especially the expression on the mask's face, suggesting eternal contempt. She knew it stood for something, but had ignored the initial explanation many decades ago, and didn't care enough to ask for a refresher.

Rejoining Kallian in the hall, the two moved towards the target advisor's room.

"You may want to put that on before you enter," Kallian said about halfway there.

Melia groaned internally. The obvious implication was that there would be civilians in the room. She slowed her pace as she began stuffing her head into the disguise. It took about two minutes to get everything in the right place. _At least this means less effort spent trying to keep a straight face._ She adjusted the mask for miniscule visibility improvement as they reached and entered the Northwestern Advisor's Room.

The room was a curious sight: thirteen half-Homs were sitting at the table, all with helmets similar to Melia's that concealed their entire heads. Sorean and Alvis were also present. Bewildered, Melia took a seat while Kallian nodded to the emperor and left.

"Excellent, that is everyone." Sorean, at the head of the table, stood up and started pacing around the room. "Now, I'm sure you are all wondering what this is about. Just under two years ago, a dozen Mechon began a blockade of Homs Colony 7. We have been monitoring the situation, and it has come to our attention that the Homs of the colony have decided to launch a last-ditch offensive. Of course, this is a foolish decision that will only lead to a counter-attack and the colony's destruction. Now, as you are probably aware, we are not supposed to intervene in these affairs, for a multitude of reasons." A pause. "However, at the suggestion of our Seer, I believe that given the situation, we can save a great deal of lives while remaining an unknown to them in the end. A risk I feel is worth taking." Another pause. "The plan is simple. I have prepared four medium cargo ships and an Issor scout ship. Go to Colony 7 and save as many Homs and supplies as you can. Take them to Makna Forest, within reasonable distance of the Nopon village there, and tell them to begin their lives anew. This mission is to be kept top secret and off the record. Any questions?"

A nervous silence filled the room. Melia could tell that all the half-Homs recruited for this mission were too jittery or awed to speak directly to the emperor, so she figured she would have to raise any objections herself.

"The Homs of Colony 7 do not know of our existence. They will ask questions of us and be distrustful." She hated how the headdress made her voice sound like a sourpuss, even though she was told it didn't sound as bad from the outside.

"Indeed," Sorean nodded. "You shall have to convince them of your benevolence without revealing your true nature. Of course, this shall be easier if the Mechon have already made significant inroads, though hopefully it will not have come to that by the time you arrive."

Melia suddenly realized what her role in the mission was: it was to be the royal delegate, the ambassador, the one who makes the decisions should something go wrong. It had to be her, as no other royal could reasonably be disguised as a Homs. She immediately froze up just like all the others.

"So," Sorean continued, "these are your assignments. Princess Melia and seer Alvis will be aboard the Issor, acting as liaisons. Ploru, you will pilot the Issor. The rest of you will be on the cargo ships, three each."

The room fell silent again. Alvis was the only one who seemed calm; everyone else was either fidgety or unnaturally rigid.

Sorean reasoned that inaction would only make the uncertainty worse. "It will take several hours to reach the colony, so you must leave immediately. The vehicles are located in hangar 2. The guards outside will lead you there. Good luck."

Alvis smoothly stood up and made for the exit. One by one, the rest of the half-Homs nervously followed. Melia, still in a half-daze at being thrown into such a high-pressure role, remained paralyzed in her seat for several seconds before snapping to attention and scampering off.

* * *

The journey to Colony 7 was drearily uneventful, with nothing to do for several hours except watch the Bionis slowly climb upwards. Melia got bored in the first ten minutes and sore legs after the first hour; being designed for quick trips around Eryth Sea, the Issor had no seats aside for the pilot's.

 _At least the others can converse with each other,_ she thought as she stared at the cargo ships just behind. She had no one to talk to, since the pilot Ploru shouldn't be disturbed, and Alvis didn't seem interested in idle talk.

Changing her sitting position yet again to try and wake up her legs, Melia glanced at Alvis. He had been standing still the entire time, watching the Bionis pass by on the starboard side.

 _How is he not incredibly sore by now?_ The majority of what Alvis did defied explanation. He looked somewhere between 15 and 17 years old - pretty much the same as Melia's relative age, actually - yet acted more like a responsible adult than any adolescent she'd ever known (and even most actual adults). He would never report any of his supposed visions to anyone but the emperor, but from what she heard of them, they mostly consisted of vague generalities that any fraud could come up with. _Why is he on this mission, anyway? Yes, he's actually a Homs unlike the rest of us and so needs no disguise, but that leaves two adolescents directing thirteen masked men. Not the most trustable squad._

Slowly, the Bionis' lower left leg came into focus, the colony becoming visible.

 _It's smaller than I expected,_ Melia considered. _I suppose that Homs would rather avoid border expansion where possible, to keep..._ "Is that smoke?"

Everyone else seemed to notice the smell at the same time, with all five ships breaking off their flat descent and pulling into dives. Thrown off balance from the acceleration, Melia peeked over the side of the ship.

The Mechon had already levelled half of the colony, systematically obliterating every person and building they came across. It was like a paintbrush of destruction was being dragged across the ground.

The ships came to a halt about ten storeys above the ground, high enough to not attract the Mechon's attention. "What should we do?" came a call from one of the cargo ships.

Melia quickly scanned the area, seeing no Homs outside in the colony, but several groups a decent distance away in multiple directions. She came to a decision without really thinking about it. "Cargo 1, start from the rear of the colony and do what you can to persuade any hiders to join you. Everyone else, try and collect the largest groups of survivors that can be seen, and join cargo 1 afterwards. Avoid the Mechon as much as possible."

The four cargo ships swooped down in different directions to carry out their orders. Melia turned to Ploru. "Do we have weapons?"

Ploru glanced across the control panel and status indicators. "We can have either weapons or shields, not both at once."

Melia shook her head. _Engineers._ "Activate the shields. We're going to cover for cargo 1."

A faint blue bubble appeared around the Issor as it dove down to rejoin the cargo ship.

The rescue mission proceeded surprisingly successfully. The first group of Homs found, a family of four, was very receptive to the idea that the Bionis had answered their prayers for help, and set their kids to load food into the cargo ship while the parents started convincing less-trustful neighbours to join. Within a minute they had fifteen Homs pretty much ready to leave, who turned to looking for any further recluses. After three minutes, cargos 3 and 4 arrived to help with eight Homs each, and three minutes after that cargo 2 showed up with a contingent of fifteen.

A total of eight minutes after the rescue crew's arrival, they saw the first Mechon, a group of three that were busy demolishing a storeroom.

"It is unsafe to proceed further," Melia said to the pilots. "We have done all we can do. Proceed to the forest."

Some of the Homs wanted to stay back and fight, but they were quickly overridden by their peers. The cargo ships closed with all 46 survivors, a couple weeks of food, and various supplies aboard, and rose back into the sky. The Mechon ignored them, focused on wrecking the buildings.

As the Issor ascended to follow the cargo ships, Alvis suddenly turned to face Melia. "We must go back."

"What?" Melia had never heard this urgent tone out of Alvis before; he only ever spoke in a careful, even voice. "Why? We cannot risk becoming a target of the Mechon for one or two more survivors." She didn't exactly agree with her own words, but it was the sensible thing to do.

"There is a boy." Alvis pointed to the entrance of the colony, at the opposite end of where the rescue was taking place. "He has somehow snuck around the Mechon's assault, but will be spotted in thirty seconds. We must return for him."

Melia looked over the colony. "We would attract the attention of at least five Mechon to get there. Is one boy worth that?"

Alvis stared directly into Melia's eyes and spoke quietly. "This one boy will, one day, be worth more than all the other survivors combined."

 _...What an unnerving statement, far more specific than anything I have ever heard from him._ Several seconds passed.

"Take us back. We're going to get this boy."

Ploru nervously turned the Issor around and sped towards the location Alvis indicated. Just as Melia expected, they passed directly in front of several unoccupied Mechon, which began pursuit.

"There he is." Alvis calmly pointed to the destroyed entrance of the colony. As he predicted, a young boy was hiding behind a pile of rubble with a smaller Mechon approaching. He was blond and looked somewhere between three and six years old; Melia was terrible at estimating young Homs' ages.

"Approach opposite the Mechon," Melia ordered.

The Issor positioned itself near the rubble and extended its boarding stairs towards the boy. He looked towards them but didn't budge, seemingly too scared to move.

"Quickly, child, climb aboard!" Melia's words had no effect; the boy continued to fearfully look back and forth between the stairs and the Mechon.

 _Of course it's never easy._ Without thinking, Melia slid down the stair railing and attempted to pick up the boy, succeeding on her fourth attempt, and staggered back to the stairs. The Issor immediately started moving, which made it very difficult for her to finish the climb and collapse on the floor.

Alvis made a curious half-smile. "Thank you for trusting my judgement."

Melia rolled into a sitting position, irritated that the boy who had cost her a pair of sore arms didn't even seem to want saving. "You owe me one, seer."

A soft laugh. "Of course."

The boy was still motionless, sitting on the floor. He still seemed quite fearful, but was slowly calming down, starting to cautiously look around rather than remain still.

 _If he doesn't want to speak, I won't be initiating either._ Melia laid back on the floor, trying to both rest and fix the catch in her back. High in the sky, she could see the four cargo ships, moving at maximum speed towards Makna Forest. The Issor couldn't catch them, merely keep pace.

It was about twenty minutes before someone next spoke.

"Where's Mummy?"

Melia sat up out of her half-nap. "Pardon?"

"Where's Mummy?" The boy was staring right at her. It was honestly a bit creepy.

"Oh. Um..." _What answer is both likely to be true and unlikely to upset him? And something he can understand?_ "Do you see the ships above? She is on one of them. We will get there in several hours."

"Oh." The boy looked up into the distance for a minute or two. "Where did you come from?"

"From very far away." _That's not going to be enough is it? Well, he's not questioning further, maybe it is._

It was several minutes before the next question came out.

"Are the black mech-ines following us?"

The depth of the question surprised Melia. It implied that the boy not only understood that they wouldn't be returning to the colony, but that the Mechon were actively antagonistic and not just a force of nature.

"No. We are taking everyone to a place where they have never been seen." It wasn't technically true, as Mechon did pass through Makna Forest on rare occasions, but on the whole it was a Mechon-free zone.

Another several minutes passed in silence. Melia got the sensation that the boy was a very slow and deliberate thinker, only opening his mouth after checking several times to confirm he reached a dead end. It was quite the opposite of other children his relative age she had seen, who would dump words out of their mouths without a single thought. _Is it a quirk of the boy's personality, or are all Homs like this? They must have some sort of redeeming characterisic, or father would not be so keen on protecting them._

"Do you have any food?"

The boy's latest question caused the unwanted realization that it was quite past lunchtime; Melia suddenly felt a cavernous hole in her belly. She had never missed a meal in her life and didn't want to start now.

To her surprise, Alvis answered. "We do." He opened a messenger bag she hadn't noticed before and extracted three apples. "It is not much, but we had little time to prepare."

Melia gratefully took one of the fruits and attempted to take a big bite, but was blocked by the mask she was wearing. _Great, now what?_ She looked around. _The pilot cannot see me even if he turned to look, and this boy is unaware of my royal status. As long as the seer keeps quiet, which is his speciality, I should be safe._ She carefully unlatched the mask from her headdress and placed it on the floor beside her, then started eating.

The boy took the apple given to him and stared at it for a few seconds before turning back to Melia. "Why do you have a fake face?"

 _Ugh. Time to make something up._ "My skin is...er, very sensitive. It sunburns quite easily." Melia had in fact inherited the High Entian resistance to sunburn, but it seemed like a good enough excuse, especially since she had zero skin showing overall.

"Oh. That's too bad." The boy started gnawing on his apple, as if testing its taste more than anything. "You have a nice real face."

Melia almost choked on her mouthful of apple at the out-of-nowhere comment. _Who does he think he is to try and ingratiate me like that?_ She had a very hard time believing that any compliment on her appearance was genuine, given that she'd never heard anything worse than backhanded praise on how she looked.

Silence fell again. Melia finished her apple in no time, handing the core to Alvis to place back into his bag, and replaced her mask so she wouldn't forget to do so later. The boy ate his very slowly, giving the impression he didn't like apples but was either too hungry or too respectful to pass it up.

No one said anything more for the rest of journey. The Issor arrived at the meetup point in Makna Forest, about halfway between Frontier Village and the passage to Valak Mountain, to find the cargo ships in the process of being unloaded by their occupants. As soon as the boarding stairs were lowered, the boy wordlessly dashed down and into the arms of a flustered couple.

 _That closes that detour._ Melia stood up and waited for the Homs to be fully unloaded before nervously making the speech she had been preparing during the ride.

"You may have many questions about what has just transpired, but we are bound to secrecy and cannot answer. Suffice to say you have been given a second chance at life. Use it however you wish." She nodded to the pilots, signalling them to take off. _That went better than expected._

"We'll travel down to the other colonies, and add to their resources!" one Homs called.

"No!" The father of the rescued boy seemed very adamant. "We'll travel to Valak Mountain and find the legendary weapon hidden there, and take back our rightful home!" He seemed to have the support of about a quarter of the group.

Melia shook her head as the voices trailed off in the distance. _Any group of reasonable size will always have disagreements. Hopefully they do not make the foolish choice once again._

The flight back to Alcamoth was equally as uneventful as the journey from it. With the excitement of the day over, Melia went back to thinking.

_This has been an interesting year. Despite being targetted for assassination just a few months ago, I am sent on a mission across the Bionis, with minimal if any protection, to rescue a Homs settlement from a Mechon attack. And in the process, we find a boy who the seer claims as exceptionally important.  
_

_I suspect that the seer suggested this mission with no intent but to save this boy, with any other Homs rescued being a bonus. But why would he not frame it as such to Father? At the very least, knowing about such beforehand would have helped prevent us needing to turn back for him.  
_

_The boy's father seemed quite insistent on searching for a "legendary weapon" on Valak Mountain. Does such a thing truly exist? I have heard many hint of a weapon hidden in the Sealed Tower, but just as many claim it is a ruse to lead the greedy to their deaths. Perhaps in the distant future, the boy succeeds his father's wish and finds the weapon in his stead, and this is why he is important?  
_

_There are far too many questions here._

* * *

"Forty-seven survivors? Very good." Sorean nodded in approval of Alvis's report. "Dare I say, I am impressed by that figure. Well done to you all."

Back in the Northwestern Advisor's Room, the thirteen half-Homs were again a bit shell-shocked to be spoken to in such a way by the emperor, though with a little less severity. Melia was indifferent; she wasn't convinced his admiration was sincere. _And if he really cared about saving a colony, why not just drive off the Mechon a few days ago? Surely that could have been done with equal effort and stealth._

"May I remind you that the events undertaken here today are of the utmost secrecy." Sorean glanced at the guard at the door. "Now, as promised, here is your reward for undertaking such a mission on short notice. I urge you to not squander it."

A second guard walked into the room carrying several bags of money about fifteen centimetres in diameter, placing one in front of each of the half-Homs. They each reacted differently, with some treating it like a decent haul while others looked like they'd never possessed this much cash in their life.

"The guards will escort you out of the palace. Again, I thank you for seeing this task to a successful conclusion."

Still entranced by their reward, the half-Homs each stepped out of the room.

"I must go as well," Alvis said while standing up. "This radical action is certain to have changed the future, and I must investigate what effects it has had."

"Very well, Seer. May our conduct by your blessing steer us on a brighter path."

Alvis left the room, leaving Melia alone with Sorean. She popped off her headdress and started wiping the sweat residue off her face, clearly exhausted. She didn't particularly care what her father had to say about her, but figured she might as well listen.

"Melia, do not underestimate your role in these events. Your quick thinking and level-headed decision-making under pressure saved more than a few lives today."

_Is your mind hardwired to think in clichés?_

"I suggest you head to the kitchens and request a snack. You may have the rest of the day to yourself." He stood up and left the room.

Now alone, Melia listlessly flopped her head onto the table. _No, I need to get up now, or I'll be stuck here for hours._ With difficulty she pushed herself off the chair and started wandering towards her room. _I need a nap. Badly. Food can wait, I'll just eat more at dinner or something._

* * *

A week later, the report came in.

"Yes, what is it?" Sorean looked up from his dinner at the messenger, who looked a bit frazzled.

"It is from the monthly Valak Patrol, with maximum priority, Your Majesty." The messenger unfolded the paper he had been given. "It is but three words: _Crimson arm departs._ "

Both Sorean and Kallian froze for a split second.

"What is this drivel?" Yumea scoffed. "This is hardly top-priority material. I insist-"

"Very well, thank you," interrupted Sorean, his face unreadable. "That will be all."

The messenger bowed and left the dining hall.

Yumea looked quite indignant. "What is this about now? A message from the Valak Patrol is a meaningless pile of words, and you brush it off so easily?"

"It is a code," said Kallian. "Given proximity to Sword Valley, the Valak Patrol uses code in their communications in case they are being watched by Mechon. I believe this one refers to...the movements of a particular exceptionally strong beast."

Yumea huffed and stopped the conversation, apparently accepting the explanation but not amused by it.

Melia, on the other hand, was not convinced. She saw the reaction to the news and Kallian's hesitation with providing the translation - the two men did not want to reveal the true meaning of the message.

_Has this to do with the legendary weapon the Homs of Colony 7 spoke of finding? If so, they must have found it and retrieved it, and the Valak Patrol has noticed its absence. I suppose not long from now we might hear of a battle on the Bionis' left leg..._


	10. Clearance

**_COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION_ **

_25 March Sorean 6  
_

_Evaluator: Keldon, James_

_PERSONAL INFORMATION_

_Name: Antiqua, Melia  
_

_Gender: F_

_Race: High Entia father, Homs mother_

_D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 74)_

_Height: 152cm_

_Weight: 46.7kg_

_Specialization: Ether staff_

_STATISTICS_

_Note: Due to low magnitude, all provided values are estimates. Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale._

_Physical Strength: **8** As with all of her other attributes, Melia has demonstrated a surprising leap of progress here this year, though this one sees the least improvement.  
_

_Ether Attunation: **38** This value is top percentile, and may in fact be a record for female adolescents.  
_

_Agility: **10** Melia seems to be improving in co-ordination in addition to pure speed.  
_

_Resilience: **128** This value is quite deceiving. Strictly speaking, it should be in the 50-60 range, as it is at this point that Melia becomes too beaten to stand_ _. However, she seems to have developed an uncanny ability to keep fighting beyond this point, unable to physically defend herself yet capable of continually deploying ether arts with little impairment. The amount of damage she can sustain in this state before finally submitting is proportionally far too large to attribute to a traditional last stand sort of behaviour, so it has been added to her total resilience score.  
_

_Overall Combat Level: **~0.89** Melia's massive leap in ability this year is quite shocking, especially in the area of resilience. I presume something major has occurred in her life that I am not aware of.  
_

_ARTS_

_Elemental Discharge: **A+** Burst aura now activates in 17 discharges, the part of her repertoire that seems to be slowing down the most. On the other hand, she has maximized her tripling abilities, which by itself is an incredible achivement.  
_

_Summon Bolt: **A-** Summoning time varies between 3 and 4 seconds.  
_

_Summon Flare: **A-** Summoning time varies between 3 and 4 seconds_ _.  
_

_Summon Aqua: **A-** Summoning time varies between 5 and 7 seconds._

_Burst End: **B-** The defensive drop of this art has reached usable levels, measuring approximately 4%, and leaves about 2 discharges worth of burst aura left over.  
_

_Hypnotise: **B-** Casting time varies between 7 to 12 seconds, and can withstand minor interruptions.  
_

_Shadow Stitch: **B-** Casting time ranges between 4 and 9 seconds, with trivial target selection, and ensnares targets for a total of 7 seconds.  
_

_Healing Gift: **D+** While Melia has no problem extracting vitality from herself, she seems unable to control how much is extracted, almost always ending up in going overboard and fainting before being able to deliver it to her target. It is unclear what can be done to remedy this._

_Spear Break: **F** This art has taken a rather unusual turn: Melia remains completely unable to break targets, but instead is quite adept at slowing them. While the addition of a new effect is interesting, the fact remains that she continues to fail at the art's primary purpose.  
_

_Overall Arts Grade: **B-** Melia's surprising year of improvement extends to her arts, with her only issues being a recent addition and a consistent problem.  
_

* * *

Once every year in July, the entire palace was scheduled to undergo a mass cleanup and restoration. The procedure was marked for two days: Saturday for the outside, and Sunday for the inside. Due to the strength of the cleaning materials used on the outer walls, as part of the process, the entire palace undergoes a full hermetic sealing, with every door and window being rendered completely and irrevocably airtight for exactly eight hours. With nothing but the duct system providing fresh air to the interior, it was recommended - but not required - for most occupants to spend the day outside.

While the rest of the royal family each left to pursue a different activity, Melia had chosen to remain inside for the day. It was a rather hot day outside and she didn't want to spend it wandering around in her stuffy headdress - with the transporters also shut off for the day, she couldn't have snuck into public as a citizen.

With Healing Gift not being a staff art, Melia was capable of practicing the real thing whenever she wanted, though it was generally unpleasant to do so. Still, she found the constant fainting to be somewhat of a blessing during days like this, when she wanted time to pass quickly.

Lying in bed after half an hour of self-induced fainting, she looked at the clock to determine she should probably do something else. _As benign as it seems, it is probably not healthy to be abusing this art like this._

Moving from her bed to her desk chair, Melia extracted a gossip magazine from the drawer that she had snuck from her most recent excursion. She found it intriguing, if a little insulting, to read sensationalist stories about herself, most of which made mutually exclusive claims of zero credibility. It was amusing to flip through the ridiculous theories of what she did in her spare time, the pointless guesses of the nature of her hairstyle, or the nonsensical reports of her trying to undermine Kallian's position for the throne, but this particular issue had a story that caught her serious attention.

**_IS MELIA ANTIQUA TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE HOMS WORLD?_ **

_By now, any self-respecting purveyor of information is fully aware that, less than a year ago, princess Melia Antiqua led a daring cadre of half-bloods to fight a Mechon squadron on the Bionis's lower left leg, as part of rescuing a hundred Homs from Colony 7. But the question has always been: Why? Why would the princess risk her stature for such a triviality of lesser lives?  
_

_After consulting with several psychology experts, we believe we have found the answer, and it takes the form of three P's: Primitives, Persuasion, and Power._

_We start with the last one on the list: Power. It is of no doubt that princess Melia is starved for power - everything in her life is overseen by the emperor, and prince Kallian blocks any opportunity for her to advance in the ranks simply by existing. Desperate to have something to control in her life, where can she turn to?  
_

_Why, the Primitives of the lower Homs colonies, of course._

_Common knowledge outlines that no Homs below the Bionis' waist has an inkling of our race's existence. Any one of us can secretly travel down there and present themselves as a god using our superior technology, and none would have any evidence otherwise. Indeed, it would take very little effort to Persuade them to submit to one's rule, quickly and cleanly taking control of an entire colony in one fell swoop._

_So, where does this lead us? Putting the pieces together, it is easy to assume that princess Melia has proclaimed herself ruler of Colony 7, occasionally returning to ensure she is being worshipped correctly. But why has she not simultaneously done so for Colonies 6 and 9, the other two that currently exist? One of our experts suggests that she wishes to cover her advances with other events, such as the Mechon attack she fended off, while another rationalizes that visiting one colony in secret is difficult enough to keep hidden from the emperor. We shall see soon enough which of these is true, assuming that reaching adulthood grants her extra privileges._

Melia's brow furrowed as she prepared to turn the page. _Clearly, at least one of the half-Homs we recruited for that mission was unable to keep his silence. If it was one of the poorer ones, I would not blame him. Still, while I did not explicitly listen for it, I do not recall hearing any gossip of this sort during my excursions, and its degree of mutation is quite...impressive. I wonder how much of the public actually believes-_

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. It sounded like it originated from just outside her bedroom door.

Getting up to investigate, Melia slowly opened the door a crack. This was one of the few times she was grateful to have a door of physical locomotion as opposed to simply phasing in and out of existence; normally she was miffed at the inconvenience of having to push or pull a handle to open or close the three doors in her room, something the architects claimed was a request made by her mother with no further reason given.

A silver canister was on the floor in the hallway about a metre away from the door, spewing a thick green gas into the air. It gave off a dreadful stench.

Slamming the door closed again, Melia leapt backwards. _It's a gas bomb. Whatever it is, it is likely unsafe to breathe, and no door can block its passage forever._

As if on cue, the green gas started slowly seeping through the cracks around the door. With little airflow in the room, it mostly hung near the door as it began to thicken.

Moving slowly to avoid stirring up any currents, Melia carefully removed one of the flowers from the vase on her desk and tossed it towards the door.

Passing through the gas, the flower curled into a black husk before it hit the floor.

 _Toxic or corrosive, doesn't matter. I'm getting out of here._ The thought barely had time to exist before the realization sunk in that there was nowhere to go; the door was her only exit, the window was too high off the ground even if it weren't sealed, and the wardrobe backdoor couldn't be opened from her side.

_Wait...the wardrobe...the vent!_

Melia scrambled to extract the Chozo interface from her sock drawer and activate it. As the map display booted up, it drew about half the palace pipes in a blazing red.

 _What does the red mean?_ The mental question was immediately answered, with the screen displaying "Noxious gas alert, unsafe to travel here".

 _Wait, shouldn't some sort of emergency system be using the vents to pump the detected gas out of here?_ She knew she had read something to that effect in a book not too long ago. The Chozo interface didn't help, all it could say was "No information available". _Well, regardless, I'm not sitting around here to wait for it._

Melia inched into her closet, trying to not produce extra air movement, closed the door to buy more time, and dragged her suitcases to under the vent in the ceiling. Giving the Chozo interface the call to open it, she stood on the suitcases and leapt upwards, barely grabbing hold of the swinging grate. She then proceeded to hang there for several seconds, unable to pull herself any higher.

"...nnnnnnnnNNNNNNgh!" Melia could barely do a chin-up, let alone lift herself into the duct. The Chozo interface caught her eye as three more pipes turned red.

She didn't want to make a huge wind, but she ended up having no choice. _Take me to the central control centre, maximum speed!_

The ductworks sprung into life, stirring up a massive gale that sucked Melia into the vent and sent her rocketing through the pipes. It took just over a minute for her to make the long journey across Alcamoth to her target.

Popping out of the port in the central control centre, Melia unrolled to see five men, all frantically trying and failing to keep their consoles from showing more and more alerts. She recognized Jim and Rob from her previous visits, where she offered help at maintaining the most difficult-to-access parts of the system one or two times a year during some of her excursions.

"Mel oh thank the Bionis it's you." Jim was the first to notice her arrival, he was clearly a bit rattled. "Listen up quick because this is the big time. Some sort of gas bombs went off in the palace. Whoever did it cut communication to Substation 3 and initiated a security lockout, we can barely see what's going on and can't do a thing about it. They're all sealed up for their annual cleaning so everyone in there's as good as dead. Get up there to sub 3 and do whatever you can to either restore our connection or start the detox yourself. GO!"

Melia didn't need to be told twice; she dove back into the duct and was off in an instant.

 _Substation 3 must be inside the palace somewhere,_ she thought as she blasted through the network. _Jim's description implies sabotage. Hopefully the perpetrator is absent to give me a chance of fixing it._

After not much time at all, Melia rocketed out of the exit port and immediately crashed into what felt like a person, followed by a sickening crunch. Standing up, she took stock of the scene. The substation had a single monitor and console with nothing but "LOCKOUT IN PROGRESS" plastered across it; one of the thick wires attached to its rear was cut and sparking. The door was locked and jammed with several planks of wood; she had no chance of opening it. The room had two other people in it. One was unconscious in a chair and looked like the maintenance man whose shift it was before he was interrupted by the saboteur. The other was the guy she had bashed into and looked very much like the chief manager of the palace's janatorial crew, though it was difficult to tell with his face on the ground and bleeding from impact.

Stepping around her accidental knockout, Melia stood in front of the console. A keyboard was present, but nothing else. She tried pressing the return key, space bar, and escape key to no effect.

"Hello? Is this system voice-controlled?" It was worth a shot.

"Affirmative." The flatness of the artificial voice made it slightly difficult to understand.

"Activate all emergency detoxification systems." _That is a word, right?_

"Unable to comply. Lockout in progress."

"Then terminate the lockout!"

"Authorization required. Please provide: Royal clearance."

Melia was stunned. _Royal clearance? That means whoever activated...never mind that for now, how do I provide such clearanace? Do I even have such authority?_ "Er, this is Melia Antiqua, First Princess, daughter of emperor Sorean."

"Insufficient biographical info."

"...and second consort Clara?" _Haven't needed to say that in years._

"Voiceprint accepted." A blue panel extended from the console's right side. "Please provide handprint."

 _The easy part._ Melia placed her hand on the panel, which glowed as it scanned.

"Handprint accepted." The scanner retracted. "Please provide correct response to security query: What is the origin of princess Melia's name?"

 _...uh-oh._ It had been a very long time since Melia had last had this particular piece of information refreshed in her mind. She stood thinking hard for several minutes, trying to ignore the map on her wrist turning redder and redder.

Having gone over all the possibilities and hazy memories, she put together her best guess. "My name comes from an ancestral word for the scuppertree." _Hopefully the system will not lock me out if I get it wrong, and allow me to use my second guess upon restart._

There was a long pause as the system processed the natural-language answer.

"Security query accepted and validated. Royal clearance confirmed. Lockout terminated. Detecting unsafe levels of hazardous gases in palace, activating emergency detox procedure."

The screen began displaying a large three-dimensional map of the palace, colouring about three quarters of all rooms in alarming red. Melia could hear a lot of machinery starting up as she looked across the map to confirm that the entrance hall and throne room were still clear, while her own room was mostly okay. As the system kicked into life, the smaller rooms were the first to clear, while the big ones followed rather quickly. In no time there were only five dangerous rooms left, which looked like the ones where the bombs were initially set off, given that one of them was the hall just outside her room.

Melia let out a massive sigh of relief. While there was almost certainly a few casualties, she had managed to avoid complete disaster. Her relief was interrupted by knocking on the door, followed by it being unlocked, but the wooden planks still barred entry.

 _I should get out of here. I'm not supposed to be in the maintenance rooms._ Melia ducked into the vent and fired herself down to the central control centre. She arrived to see the five men even more relieved than she was.

"You're a lifesaver, Mel," Jim said breathlessly. "Listen, there's probably going to be an investigation into what happened here. If you don't want to be part of it, we'll cover for you. Just say the word."

 _I can't have an investigation revealing my presence here._ "That would be appreciated."

"Got it. We'll tell them we have a few volunteers working under condition of anonymity. You needn't worry about a thing."

"Thank you."

"Oh no, thank _you_." He walked to the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, we need some coffee. Pedro, you hang back, we'll get you some."

Jim left and took three of the men with him, leaving one behind who simply acknowledged Melia with a nod as she crawled back into the ductworks and headed back to her room.

Arriving in her closet, Melia landed awkwardly on top of her pile of suitcases. _No time to relax just yet, I have to make it seem like I was here all along. Put the suitcases back and close the grate, hide the Chozo interface back in the drawer. Now what would I have done if I had no escape? Probably left the wardrobe door open, knowing that's where the vent is, so the eventual detox process would get done faster. Then I would hide in the washroom and close the door. Perhaps in the shower, ready to turn on the water and run the gas down the drain as a last resort?  
_

Footsteps could be heard in the hall outside. Having finished hiding the evidence of her adventure, Melia dashed into the washroom and closed the door. _Now I must simply wait. I have been hiding in here the entire time; all I know is the gas never penetrated this far in.  
_

It only took about half a minute for the "rescue party" to enter the washroom, a cadre of three guards equipped with hazmat gear and medical equipment. Seeing that Melia was perfectly safe, they flashed a thumbs-up to an unseen person outside and walked back out, being quickly replaced by Denzel, the active captain.

"You are well, princess?" the captain inquired.

"Yes. I retreated quickly upon the...er, event occurring, and did not encounter any difficulties."

"Very well. Please come with me to the ground floor. The Emperor is outside awaiting news, and seeing you will ease his main concern."

* * *

Dinner was a little thin that night, with many ingredients having to be thrown out due to the kitchens being partially contaminated. With the palace's sealing broken only ten minutes prior, Sorean received his report at the table alongside the rest of the family.

"At approximately two thirty-two this afternoon," captain Denzel began, "multiple gas bombs were detonated in various locations around the palace. All occupants were immediately directed to the largest rooms as hazmat personnel attempted to locate and dispose of the charges; a total of twelve minor injuries have been reported, with no serious injuries nor deaths. A total of five charges were located and neutralized. In order of discovery, they were placed in the hall outside the kitchens, in the training facility, at the top of the third-floor stairs, outside the hospital wing, and immediately outside princess Melia's chambers."

Sorean shook his head in disgust at what was clearly a second attempt on Melia's life in just over a year.

The captain continued. "During most of the rescue and disposal process, the ventilation system remained completely silent, only activating after three of the bombs had been dealt with. It was later discovered that the system had been sabotaged by none other than Roleg Ferk."

Sorean's disgust turned to anger in an instant. He pounded his fist on the table. "What?! Roleg Ferk, the manager of the palace's sanitation team for the past seventy years?"

"The very same. He was found in the palace's ventilation control substation, having boarded himself in and knocked out the worker attending to the system."

"The cowardly traitor. What did he have to say for himself?"

"Well, Your Majesty, this is where things get a little mysterious." Denzel flipped to the next page of his report. "Upon forcing the door open, Ferk was found face down on the floor, unconscious in a pool of his own blood. He is in the hospital wing and has yet to re-awaken, diagnosed with a fractured skull from impact with the floor. We have not even a guess as to how he was attacked."

"Why did Central Control take so long to realize there was a problem?" asked Kallian.

"Ferk had not only placed a lockout on the system, but cut the communication to all other stations. Central Control immediately knew there was a problem, but could do nothing but watch."

"...Then who disabled the lockout?" Kallian had no idea he had accidentally put an elbow in his food; Melia had to try very hard to not laugh.

"We don't know. In all likelihood, the same mystery man that knocked out Ferk. And here we come to the biggest mystery of all: According to the system logs, the lockout was initiated by royal clearance, before being terminated by royal clearance."

A deadly silence fell over the table as everyone stopped eating in shock.

Wanting to finish his report, Denzel broke the silence. "As we can safely discount the possibility that anyone at this table was present to initiate or terminate the lockout, this means that the logs have been falsified somehow. This is corroborated by the fact that the lockout initiation time has been erased, something else that only royal clearance can do without some sort of hacking. Investigation is ongoing as to what kind of hacking must have been necessary to precipitate these events; currently there have been no results. That is the extent of my report."

Sorean gave a heavy sigh. "Very well. While we are waiting for Ferk's testimony, I want three things done. First, seek out whoever was in charge of security when Ferk entered the palace today, and find out why he was insufficiently supervised. And I will not accept "he was trustworthy" as an answer. Second, find a temporary replacement for Ferk that is not part of the current team. He will handle tomorrow's interior cleaning and be a candidate to take the position permanently, which I want done in no more than a month. And third, find a place in the palace to construct a second ventilation control substation, to operate independently of the existing one, and do so immediately. That will be all."

"Understood, Your Majesty." Denzel bowed and left the room.

"This is madness." Kallian surreptitiously brushed the food off his sleeve. "Two attacks in the palace in less than twenty months, via two completely different mediums. And we have no hope of hiding this one from the public; it was all too obvious that something was awry."

"We may be able to claim it was a malfunction with the system, drawing poisonous fumes in from a waste disposal building." Sorean shook his head. "But even that may be optimistic at best." He turned to Melia. "Melia, you are the only one of us who remained in the palace today. Should you have any information of these events that Denzel did not report, speak now."

Melia was ready for the question; she had spent the past few hours making up her mind how to answer it. "I retreated to the washroom immediately upon discovering the nature of the problem, and remained there until I was rescued. I have nothing to add." In the end, she had decided that revealing her role in the day's events would leave just about the same number of unanswered questions, and she was not at all confident that the results of her actions would exonerate her from stealing around in the ductwork.

A grim nod. "Very well." Sorean began discussing with Kallian what kind of story they would give to the public the next day. Melia ignored them, paying more attention to her food, before realizing something was amiss. She stole a glance at Yumea, who was eating slightly quicker than usual, with a look of disgust on her face.

_She always participates in these discussions about public relations. Why not today? Have the potential consequences of today's events affected her that much? She doesn't seem to care that much about the welfare of the palace staff normally, or for that matter me. Odd._


	11. In Concert

Melia walked into the training room on the first Wednesday of November to find something quite unusual: alongside Reddel, her four personal bodyguards were present.

Aizel, Hogard, Garan, and Damil were officially referred to as "the cadre of the Second Consort". Originally, they were the guard of the Villa of the Second Consort, assigned when Melia's mother first came to Alcamoth. When her mother died and Melia was relocated from the villa to a room inside the palace, they remained as the bulk of her protection when outside the palace as a royal. Despite their position, age difference, general quietness, and somewhat irritatingly overprotective attitude, she considered them the closet thing to a group of friends she could ever have.

"Hello, Melia." Reddel gestured towards the others. "I've taken the liberty of gathering some of your comrades for this session. It's going to be a little different today."

Melia noticed that many objects in the training room had been pushed aside, leaving more room to manoeuvre.

"We are quickly approaching a total of ten years of training. There remains only one thing that you are required to do in these first ten years: a simulated battle, a practice fight between you and an opponent."

The immediate thought that came to Melia's mind was that she didn't want to fight her bodyguards; they each had a certified combat level of 41, and had almost half a millenium of experience between them.

"Now, as convenience has it, this battle will be a three-on-three. You shall choose two of these gentlemen for your team, and the other two will be on my team."

Melia didn't want to fight Reddel either, but at the very least being on a team of three would somewhat reduce the pressure in her direction. _And it will certainly be interesting to fight alongside my protectors, not simply stand behind them._

"In the interest of a fair fight, I will be restricting myself to the arts you have mastered. In addition, notice that none of us are armoured and our weapons are blunted, one of a few measures taken to place us on a more level playing field."

Melia had seen that the guards' rapiers and shields were made of soft silphwood instead of metal, but saw no difference in Reddel's staff. _He must be capable of restricting his arts without changing equipment._

"Now, once you are ready, select who you would like to be on your team."

Everyone stared at Melia as she thought. _Aizel's style is to attract attention and use his defenses to take little damage. Hogard's style is to distract opponents and dodge their attempts. Garan's style is to attack from unexpected locations. Damil's style is to attack from afar and utilize non-damaging ether arts. I should not take both the defensive-minded ones, as that leaves me as the only attacker. I should not take both the offensive-minded ones, as that leaves no defense to protect me. Therefore, I should pick one of each. Hmmm... Not even Hogard can dodge ether arts. I should place him on the opposing team and have Damil on my team. That leaves me with Aizel and them with Garan._ "I choose Aizel and Damil."

"Very well." The two chosen ones walked to Melia's side as the three now-opponents retreated to the other side of the room. "Understand that the purpose of this exercise is to introduce you to fighting on a team. Do not put so much effort into winning that you injure yourself; there is more to learn in defeat than from victory."

Melia scoffed inwardly. _I may not win, but I won't be giving up._ "I am ready."

Reddel brushed his mustache. "You may make the first move."

"We will follow your lead," Aizel stated. "We will act alone, but conform to your orders."

"Any strategy is yours alone to consider," added Damil. "Name your initial target, and we will begin."

Melia considered her options. _The obvious first action is to raise an elemental for support purposes; I am out of range to do anything else. The question is, which elemental? It seems premature to look for healing, so should I bolster Aizel's damage or Damil's? And which of the three opponents should we target first?_ After a moment of thinking, she decided to summon a flare. "Focus the offensive on Garan!"

The instant the elemental appeared in the Training Staff, all the other combatants mobilized. On Melia's side, Damil cast a Just Radiance to protect the group from losing motivation early, while Aizel locked Garan onto himself and vice versa with a Duel Lock aura. On the opposing side, Reddel quickly summoned an aqua and a flare, Hogard switched to his Attack Stance to sacrifice defenses for power, and Garan dashed in with a Targe Charge that knocked Aizel askew.

Melia quickly lost focus; with five other fighters in the battle using various arts, some of which she didn't remember ever seeing before, she couldn't fully parse what was going on. Trying to find something concrete to latch onto, she ended up paying attention to Aizel. He had activated Guard Shift to block Hogard's attempt to topple him with Down Kick, and was taking the opportunity to simply eat Garan's quick attacks with it.

_Aizel is defending, he won't be able to command attention for long._

The thought had no time to trail away before Hogard leapt over her with a Helm Splitter, slapping her in the head with his dummy spear. She instinctively swung her staff at him, but he easily dodged it and countered with a poke to the arm. The attacks stung just enough to be a constant irritation.

Now wholly focused on Hogard, Melia summoned a bolt and struck him with it, though he still managed to avoid the brunt of it. Damil joined in with a Force Blast, which scored a more solid hit and broke Hogard's stance, but Aizel was still locked on to Garan and couldn't follow it up. Hogard's next move was to turn to Aizel and use Inauspicious Cut, a diagonal slash that ensures the victim will receive the worst possible luck for a time.

 _Aizel needs healing. That's what I'm here for._ Melia discharged her flare into the crowd, setting the two nearby opponents on fire, and summoned an aqua in its place. _Wait, why am I only keeping one beneficial effect active at a time?_ She quickly summoned her other two known elementals. _I cannot tell whether we are winning or losing._

The world suddenly went black; Reddel had used Hypnotise on her, and she collapsed to the floor. Damil stepped forward to assist, but Hogard got there first with a Shockwave Plant, damaging them both and scoring a rude awakening crit on Melia. Upset at herself for assuming Reddel's "don't hurt students" rule would hold in the battle, she intended to toss her bolt at him, but was interrupted when she recognized that Hogard was readying his talent art.

"Damil, prepare your Healing Wall!" Melia knew that Damil had an art that erected a barrier which turned incoming attacks into healing energy, and with Aizel about to take a lot of damage, it seemed a good time to use it. Unfortunately, Garan had broken free of Aizel's lock-on and was keeping Damil occupied, carving him up with a Fracas Cut. Unable to come up with a second option, Melia watched as Hogard laid into Aizel with Double-Edge Dance, a powerful four-hit combo attack that crit on every strike due to the target's unlucky status.

Melia suddenly felt a major pain in her back. Garan had snuck behind her with Shadow Eye, allowing her to use Back Stab for maxmimum effect. As she turned to face her, she then got clobbered by Volcano Kick, a highly-damaging burning axe heel stomp. Hogard joined in with a Down Kick, knocking her off her feet with little effort, which Garan then followed up with a dazing Star Punch.

"Enough!" Reddel dispelled his elementals. The victors pulled back and started helping the defeated to their feet. Melia was completely unresponsive, splayed on the floor and unable to make a conscious thought. It took several minutes to tease her into regaining awareness.

 _Stupid, stupid._ Her first reaction upon awakening was to belittle herself. _Focusing on Reddel first would have been the correct-_

"Not bad for a first showing." Reddel interrupted her thoughts. "Your initial strategy to single out Garan while restricting yourself to back-line support was sound. It is merely in the execution that you stumbled, allowing your attention to be swayed too easily."

Melia had no response to this. He was right of course; despite giving the call to focus on Garan, she didn't even look at her for more than a few seconds before getting distracted.

Reddel continued with his breakdown. "Your call for aid to Damil was also very well-placed, to use a damage-absorbing art against a high-power attack. Again, only through experience can you learn to form a backup plan at the same time, so as to not waste crucial seconds. Though admittedly, in this specific situation there were very few options."

Melia nodded glumly. More than anything, she was upset at herself for not keeping all three of her known elementals active the entire time, her biggest if not only advantage over her opposite member on the other team. She sorely wanted to have another go just to see how well she'd do by fixing this mistake, but could tell she wouldn't get another chance for several months - she wasn't injured, but she was still seeing stars.

"While this has been a short session, I believe enough has occurred that we wrap it up here." Reddel produced some fudge from his vest and handed it over. "Go take a rest."

Still a bit sour, Melia reluctantly made for the exit, turning back to see her bodyguards enter a discussion with her instructor. _Probably comparing their own notes. They must train against each other like this all the time, it had to have been just another sparring match for them. Why can we not practice against the weaker creatures of Eryth Sea instead?_

* * *

It was bright and sunny but somewhat cool outside as Melia transported to the Wairuha District for a January excursion. The Wairuha District was mostly greenspace with the occasional small shop, and contained the bulk of Alcamoth's east-side parks. Given the unusual freedom to choose her destination this time around, she felt inclined to go somewhere she hadn't yet been on an excursion.

Upon appearing in the district's transport hub, however, she immediately believed she had been sent to the wrong location. The place was an absolute zoo, far busier than she'd ever seen the public, with everyone seemingly moving in the same direction.

 _What is going on here?_ She slithered her way through the crowd to lean against a tree, away from the commotion. _Some planned event must be transpiring._

Melia considered simply returning to the palace and taking her excursion elsewhere, but was highly curious about why a park would be so busy. It would be difficult to tell what exactly was happening without going along with it.

She shrugged internally. _Why not? I had nothing particular in mind anyway._ She started to follow the crowd, still attempting to keep elbow room as possible.

It did not take long to find out. A stage had been set up in Kapako Park, with large signs hung on the ether lamps advertising a charity concert by "Lemon Jam", set to begin in half an hour. Knowing nothing about Lemon Jam, Melia took a free pamphlet from someone standing at the edge of the path.

_**=*= ABOUT LEMON JAM =*=** _

_Lemon Jam is a high-power blend of two of Alcamoth's top-tier groups: O-Zone and Gear Up. With nine of the city's best talent on display, prepare to have your ears crushed by the sweetest tunes ever assembled!  
_

_~=~ O-ZONE ~=~_

Guitar: Papel "Crank" Vermillion _  
Do you like shredding? Of course you do! This mean 'n' lean machine will have you wondering how his fingers move that fast._

Keyboard: Oosa "Blaster" Doe __  
Using his versatile instrumentation for full effect, this crazed kook tickles the ivories like your mom's feathers. No offense.  


Guitar: Apollo "Torch" Sulph __  
Who says bald people can't tear it up? Don't fret if his frets catch on fire from his strummin', it's part of his jam.  


Bass: Travis "Smooth" Mackilt _  
The coolest of cool cats. It's said his basslines can calm any raging beast, if he could ever get his amp set up properly._

Drums: Vani "Roller" Effblov _  
This high-calorie beefcake will give you the beat until your limbs fall off. And that's not even counting the solos._

_~=~ GEAR UP ~=~_

Keyboard: Dell "Keys" Kweston __  
There ain't one of the 88 keys that this guy hasn't pinned down. Don't question the single glove.  


Drums: Horf "Backbone" Hussels __  
He's not flashy, he's not larger-than-life, and he's not first in line for autographs, but damn if he doesn't get the job done.  


Guitar: Spec "Pick" Shinner __  
A tried-and-true professional with incredible success to his name. You say he's washed-up? Didn't think so.  


Bass: Spab "Slick" Shinner __  
This is one younger brother who's not afraid to mix it up. Be ready for his bassline jams, or you'll be pudding on the floor.  


Melia turned over the folded paper to see a group shot. _So they're two metal bands playing together? This should be...interesting._ Comfortable in classical music, she had never attempted to expand horizons to more "topical" genres. However, she had been on somewhat of a rebellious streak for the past few months, using her excursions to try unusual foods or visit places she'd never been before. Experiencing a new type of music couldn't be much different.

The crowd started filtering through a series of makeshift entrance gates, drawn out with portable barriers. Signs posted said that the miminum charitable donation to enter was 5G, and that all proceeds would go towards homeless services. The logos worn by the ushers were of recognizable organizations that proved legitimacy to the claims.

 _This is a worthy cause; I shall make a large contribution._ Melia reached into her bag and grasped a large handful of cash. She was allowed to keep any leftover money from her previous excursions, which had started to burn a hole in her pocket with nothing to spend it on in her daily life.

The usher at the gate blocked Melia's deposit into the box he was holding and counted it out, trembling in shock at the large sum as he did so. "T-that's 3465G. A-as thanks for your g-generous deposit, y-you have been g-granted front-row billing." He handed her a lanyard with a green card attached to it that read "3,000+" and directed her towards a path that lead almost straight to the stage.

"...er, thank you." Melia would have preferred to remain near the back of the mass of people, but it would be far too rude to turn down the offer. She put the card around her neck and cautiously made her way towards the stage.

The front of the crowdspace had a cordoned-off section at the front for the top donators, about three rows deep, with about three dozen people already present. She positioned herself about halfway between centre and left stage and started waiting.

The crowd continued to thicken as it poured in. Melia started getting a little uncomfortable with standing close to so many people at once, especially as the majority of them dwarfed her. Looking up at the stage, she noticed that while there were two drum kits set up, only one of the two bands currently had the rest of their equipment on stage. _I suppose they will be doing some individual pieces before combining later on._

She then turned her eyes towards the audience. She couldn't see much of the "cheap seats", but those who were pushing to the front were almost exclusively adolescents, likely diehard fans with little money, with about an even gender mix. Pretty much everyone in the top donators section seemed to be young adults, none younger than 85. She noticed that most of the top donators' cards read "250+", with a few "500+"s and "1,000+"s scattered around.

 _...I hope I am not the only 3000._ Somewhat embarrassed, she flipped her card over so only the blank green side was showing.

At exactly one o'clock, the members of O-Zone appeared onstage. Crank, the shortest, grabbed the mic at the front of the stage.

" _HEY ALCAMOTH, ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!_ "

The audience erupted. Unprepared for the sheer volume, Melia reflexively leapt into the air and had trouble staying on her feet on landing. _Is this whole concert going to-_

The thought was crushed by the band's opening riff. It was indeed just as loud. Melia could feel her wings going haywire as if trying to escape; she had successfully learned to manipulate them when still, but not how to stop them from moving. It felt like she was being immersed in a pool that was full of sound instead of water.

As the song progressed, Melia's ears slowly became accustomed to the massive amounts of volume being pumped out by the band. While it was still mostly uncomfortable, it started to feel more like music than just straight-up noise. Nearing the end, it even started to feel enticing, the feeling of discovering something both similar to and different from an old favourite.

With the first piece done and the audience cheering, Melia took a look at the program hidden within the pamphlet, listing titles and overviews for the songs to be played.

**_O-Zone_ **

Big Top Bop _\- The circus is in town, and it's gonna put you through the ringer._  
King of the Kuppas _\- What if the emperor was a tyrant? And a turtle? Well you'd get this._  
Metal Melee _\- The world's first rap battle between two rival blacksmiths._  
Mute City _\- In a world where music is against the law, one group - a cheap self-insert of us, FYI - must make a stand._  
Lightning Battle _\- The mightly Kor is mad, and he ain't lettin' no one escape his personal brand of justice._  
Giga Baby _\- If you're going to be genetically enhancing critters, try doing so on the ones that aren't already dangerous.  
_

**_Gear Up_ **

The Rusty Bucket _\- All aboard the biggest heap of trash to ever set sail. Destination: a toxic harbour for it to decompose in._  
Native Phrygisian _\- The last of his kind to live in the most frigid reaches of existence has a chilling tale to tell._  
Western Valley _\- Suffering through the blistering sun and freezing nights, one tribe of the desert dreams of the green fields of its neighbour._  
2 Wily 4 U _\- In an arms war between two brilliant inventors, who's really the good guy anymore?_  
The Square of Zero _\- The infinity of numbers points towards two fates, neither of which are particularly beautiful..._  
In The Final _\- It's the end of the world, and our only hope is our worst enemy._

**_Lemon Jam_ **

Intruder Alert _\- Now we can't have anyone stealing secrets, can we?_  
Castle of 8 _\- Trapped in a maze of no logic, where floors, walls, and ceilings alike lead everywhere and nowhere, the only way out is in._  
Taboo Emissary _\- Representing nothing, he wishes to destroy everything - and so everyone must stop him._  
The Chase _\- Their monochromatic oppressors on the run, the Colour Revolution seeks to finish the job._  
Together We Ride _\- There's only one way to make friends in this biz: rock out hard with 'em._  
Fourth Destination _\- Comrades through space and time, none can keep their awesomeness apart.  
_

Unsurprisingly, nothing on the list was familliar to her. She noted a strong contrast between the descriptions of the two groups' songs, with Gear Up's compositions reading as more serious and philosophical than O-Zone's flippant informality.

The concert progressed. With each song played, Melia felt slightly more at ease, starting to actually enjoy the music despite its brashness. It didn't really feel like the kind of thing she'd want to take in again in the future, but it felt worth staying for the whole thing.

Once their six songs were completed, O-Zone left the stage as Gear Up took it. The shift in tone was even starker than the program implied; while various segments were still in-your-face and overpowering, on the whole they were far more cerebral and laid back. Melia found herself unconsciously bobbing to the beat halfway through the third song, which would have been embarassing had she not considered it made her fit into the crowd more and not less. The realization lead to her awkwardly mimicking the movements of the surrounding crowd, which eventually got smoother and unhooked a deeper connection to the music.

When the two bands combined to start the last third of the concert, the tone changed again. The two drummers traded duties between the drum kit and other percussive instruments, while the keyboarders emulated reed and brass sections to produce a more epic and orchestral sensation. It was hard to tell they were two different groups performing together, and not a single band of nine.

With the final song complete and the audience going wild, Crank took the mic again.

"So y'know what it's time for now? WE'RE CALLIN' TODAY'S TOP DONATOR ONTO THE STAGE!"

Despite the newet surprise having pretty much nothing to do with them, the crowd let off the biggest cheer yet for this piece of news.

 _I wonder if this was announced beforehand?_ Melia wondered. _There certainly would be more donations if it was known in advance as opposed to...no._ The realization bubbled up that there was a very good chance she was the top donator, having mindlessly given three times more than anyone else she had seen. _No. No, no, no no no, nonononono._ If there was one thing she wanted to stick to on her excursions at all costs, it was to avoid standing out.

 _I have to get out of here._ Abandoning the pretense of respect, she started hurrying her way towards the side of the crowd where she originally walked in from.

"Ah, perfect timing." The usher she had originally given her donation to was coming down the aisle. "Was just about to fetch you. Thanks for making it easy; next below you was a three-way tie."

Melia's mind froze up. It was much harder to abandon respect and escape when someone was looking directly at you.

"This her? Groovy." Keys had descended from the stage and was standing opposite the usher. "C'mon lassie, let's get you in the spotlight."

This was the last thing Melia wanted to happen. She stood rooted in a daze for what felt like minutes though was only seconds before Keys grabbed her hand and gently pulled her along up the stairs.

The audience exploded yet again upon seeing the top donator on stage. Directed to shake hands with the bands, Melia floated along almost unconsciously, unaware of the short blurbs they were saying to her and so red in the face it felt like it was on fire. The next thing she could parse was called by Crank to the audience.

"So to the tune of three and a half thousand schmuckers, let's give it up for MEL!"

Melia didn't recall giving anyone at the concert her name, but she must have at some point, probably when stumbling through the handshake line. Still massively embarassed but at least trying to look alive, she forced a half-smile as she looked out across the audience. Being presented to a huge crowd was nothing new to her, but it was a far more harrowing sensation to do so without a mask to an audience cheering for her instead of against her.

"Now comes the fun part!" Blaster came forward holding a bass guitar. Its white body was wing-shaped, with a jet black neck and strap, silver frets, and gold-coloured strings. The body was signed by all nine musicians. "As massive thanks to your massive donation, you get THIS one-of-a-kind beaut! Don't you be abusin' it!"

The audience went nuts. Melia took the bass in both arms and simply stood still, very slowly re-engaging her brain.

_This...this is...a reward to the top donator? Does it function, or is it simply a trophy? How am I going to explain this to-_

"Hey, y'know, I've been thinking." Crank's tone of voice gave off the impression this was the start of a staged conversation.

"How can you tell?" replied Slick. The crowd laughed.

"I'm thinking, we've got a lotta dudes onstage here. And I don't recall playing that one song yet."

The audience started murmuring at the mention of "that one song". The band bought into it and started doing "pump it up" arm motions.

"Eh? EEEH? You all ready for the encore? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

Melia suddenly noticed that Smooth had plugged a cord into the bass and was placing a music stand in front of her.

"Don't sweat it," he said. His voice was strangely soothing. "Rhythm's a cinch, same thing every bar, and really not many different pitches to deal with."

_Wait what? You expect me to play this bulky thing? In front of...What am I supposed to do?_

Like all children, Melia was taught to play the recorder between the ages of 45 and 50, mostly as part of developing fine motor control and lung strength. But it had been that long since she'd even glanced at sheet music, and the discrete holes of a reed instrument were far simpler than the continuous scale of a guitar string. Furthermore, she couldn't read bass clef.

Actually looking at the paper on the stand gave a slight bit of hope; fingerings and other instructions were written underneath the notes, the band clearly prepared for their guest to have never played guitar before. The notation was easy enough to understand, and the part was indeed relatively simple - eighth and two sixteenths, all the way along.

The audience had gone mostly quiet. Melia put the strap over her head and moved her fingers into position, triple-checking that she had the right fret and string, and took a deep breath. _I am anonymous. Succeed or fail, it's as a nobody, not as the princess. It doesn't seem that difficult. It's the supporting bass, not the main part. It's for charity._  


She started to play. The volume was even more overwhelming from up on the stage, but it also seemed more tolerable simply because she was the one controlling it. Some of the fans recognized the bassline immediately and shrieked; she managed to ignore them quite easily. After the first few repetitions of the simple rhythm got most of the willies out of her system, she unconsciously picked up speed a little bit. Despite being simple, the rhythm was quite driving.

Crank was back on the mic. "So is everyone ready for THE PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE?!"

The crowd roared to life. The two drummers waited for their guest to reach the correct point before bashing out a four-count, and from there the whole band exploded.

Melia was right about one thing: she was indeed just the supporting bass. The two other bass players' parts were more flourished and could easily hold the line if she was absent. But the more surprising realization came once the melody entered full swing: she actually recognized the song. The overall arrangement was heavily munged, of course, but the melody was unmistakable. It took until the middle of the second verse for her to place it: an animated children's film from several decades back, the climax of which involved a high-stakes race across the sky through a course marked by hard-light rainbows. She knew it was a pretty popular film, but had no idea that a metal band would take a riff on its music and turn it into a song with a "down with racism" theme.

Being fully immersed into the music, the rest of the excursion melded into a blur. Once the song was finished, she shook hands with the band again, not scared stiff anymore but her head still ringing, before leaving the stage with her accidentally-obtained trophy. The crowd gave her a wide berth, with the respectful fans protecting her from the rabidly jealous ones, as she lazily wandered back towards the transport hub in a dreamy stupor.

Reappearing in the palace, Melia continued to saunter along towards her chambers, unaware of the curious and disapproving looks the guards were giving her and her new bass. Even Kallian was thrown for a loop, almost colliding with her in the hallway halfway there, with her oblivious to his presence.

"I eagerly await the tale of this new acquisition of yours," he called after her.

Melia didn't hear much more than a faint buzzing, the concert's music still repeating in her head. Her hearing wasn't permanently damaged, but it would take a few hours of peace and quiet to recover.


	12. Sunrise

Melia woke up quite suddenly. She glanced at the clock to find it was quarter to six - too early to do anything, but probably too late to bother going back to sleep. She tried to remember the dream she was having; it had something to do with waking up a full thirty centimetres taller, only to find that everyone else was only half the height they should have been. It was both fascinating and spooky.

It took her a few seconds more to remember what the date was: 22 February Sorean 7, her 75th birthday, a date she had dreaded for many years.

High Entian society divided life into four very distinct blocks: "infancy", "childhood", "adolescence", and "adulthood". Each of the three underaged periods were exactly 25 years long, with the matching birthdays doubling as ceremonies to mark the hard-edged divisions of treatment of the person. It was much cleaner and less barbaric than the single ancient royal coming-of-age ceremony - whcih involved leaving the person alone in Satorl Marsh and waiting for them to return home - but when faced with a third birthday involving an instant change in the quality and content of her life, Melia almost would have preferred the trial.

Looking back at the clock just to confrm that she had more than an hour to stew in anticpation, Melia naturally started thinking about her previous two period-spanning birthdays. The memories of her 25th were hazy, the clearest ones mostly consisting of being derided for acting babyish, and learning that her schooling was to begin the next day, which turned out to be an unpleasant experience due to its suddenness. Her 50th birthday was also not a very happy memory, involving a massive shift in how she was expected to act just before the dinner began, in addition to several embarrassing presents relating to the uncertainty over whether certain aspects of her puberty would be primarily High Entian or Homs.

 _There is no doubt that this birthday ceremony will be at least equally disruptive to my life,_ she reasoned. _Even discounting the past two such major ceremonies, no one seems to learn that sudden, uninvited change for no apparent advantage is inherently a bad thing. Gradual change is far more tolerable._

She looked at the clock again, as if hoping to suddenly find it advanced by an hour, when an idea struck.

_I'm going to go watch the sunrise._

Melia had never slept in a room with a sun-facing window, nor had the opportunity to be near one or outside the palace in the early morning. She had seen multiple sunsets in her life, but never a sunrise, and this was the perfect opportunity.

Excited to do something rebellious on the day where she was supposed to magically lose all rebellious behaviour, Melia scrambled into the wardrobe and eventually into the vent, before firing herself across the city towards Contemplation Park. Arriving in a tool shed next to the fountain, she carefully pushed open the door to look around.

Contemplation Park was a medium-sized patch of greenery on the sun-facing side of Alcamoth, featuring a dozen colourful flowerbeds and a six-nozzled fountain in the centre. Not a soul could be seen.

Careful to stick a loose branch into the shed door to ensure she could re-enter, Melia selected a park bench to sit on before realizing she had not changed out of her lavender nightgown. _Oh well, it makes no difference. It's just a bit chilly, that's all._ She looked up into the sky where the sun was set to appear in the next ten minutes.

It was not very well understood at all how the sun worked, and any attempts to find out were thwarted by its extreme heat by day and its invisibility by night. But it was very well-behaved, with more precise waking and sleeping times than any other natural object aside from the moon. In February and March, it would always "rise" at exactly six in the morning and "set" at six in the evening, seemingly fading in and out of existence.

Melia's eyes travelled back and forth between the sun's appearance location, the clock displayed on the Chozo interface, and the park entrance, hoping that no other early risers had the same plans as her. She wasn't expected to be awake until seven-thirty, but she figured there would be park-goers earlier than that, and so reasoned that she might as well return to her room immediately afterwards.

The sky slowly turned brighter, acting independently of the sun, its mechanics equally predictable and mysterious. Several bird species were heard chirping in the trees. Melia kept one eye on the clock and the other in the sky.

_Three...two...one..._

A white spark appeared for a split second, before vanishing and subsequently being replaced by a ring of fire, drawn in the sky as if by an invisible artist's brush. The ring's interior started emitting a soft red glow, creating the impression of a giant red disc in the sky, before accelerating through orange and yellow to reach a blinding white, like a giant spotlight had been turned on. The spectacle lasted only a few seconds, but it was far more impressive than a sunset.

Melia simply sat and stared around the park for a few minutes, no longer wishing for time to hurry up.

* * *

The first change to Melia's life manifested itself a bit earlier than she expected, before even the eight o'clock breakfast: everyone in the palace that she passed by called her "Lady Melia" instead of "Princess Melia". She was not quite sure what to make of this; she identified as a princess more than a lady, and the new term felt far more generic. _Still, as changes go, this is probably the least-upsetting one I will see today._

"Happy birthday, Melia." Kallian popped into the dining hall with a large smile on his face. "How are things today?"

"Fine." Melia saw no reason to stir the pot, sensing that her brother was about to relay information, and simply went right back to her fruit.

"Good. The Emperor has requested I tell you that the banquet hall is off-limits, for obvious reasons. In addition, the first event of the day will occur at ten o'clock, so be ready in the entrance hall to leave the palace by nine-thirty."

 _Ugh._ Melia nodded, hiding her disgust. She wasn't told anything about the day's schedule other than when to get up by, something that was clearly supposed to increase anticipation but in reality just aggravated her. She was wired to run on pre-determined schedules.

Kallian's smile faded a bit; he could sense something was amiss. "You haven't been looking forward to this day, have you?"

Melia was a little surprised that Kallian appeared to care; sure, he would sometimes try to make unwanted things better for her, but she figured this would be mandated to stop upon adulthood. "I do not appreciate having a day so filled with change at an arbitrary age."

"Well, look at it this way: Would you rather have the changes spread out across multiple days, or all at once and get it over with?"

Melia looked back down at her food. _I would rather people realize that the changes themselves are unnecessary._

Kallian sat down at the table. "You are already a mature and responsible young lady, far more so than I was at your age. There may be less change in store than you expect."

"Oh? And how exactly were you less mature than I?"

Kallian chuckled, seeing a chance to lighten Melia's mood. "You were far too young to know me as an adolescent. Even the week before my adulthood birthday, I found myself in trouble for destroying a flowerbed in the courtyard while playing football. Tasked with helping the gardeners recreate it, I attempted to inscribe a rude word in a daisy patch with tulips." He chuckled again. "Father was very upset and spent about twenty minutes lecturing me."

Melia was unsure whether she was supposed to laugh or not. It was indeed a funny story, but at the same time it really wasn't funny at all. She tried to compromise by smiling, but only managed a few twitchy lip movements.

Sighing in defeat, Kallian stood up. "If nothing else, know that Father already considers your behaviour quite acceptable for an adult. I would not expect much change in that department." He made to leave. "Oh, and you are still to wear your public headdress outside the palace, so you may continue to pass incognito during excursions. I will see you later."

 _...Really?_ If there was one thing she was certain of being changed this day, it was being unmasked as a royal. She was actually looking forward to being able to ditch the mask, but was equally reluctant to lose the power of anonymity. _I suppose that's one change I won't have to deal with for a while longer._

* * *

The first event on the schedule wound up being a performance at the Weisterland Concert Hall. It was not planned as part of the birthday festivities - it simply happened to be scheduled at a convenient time, so it was worked in. Melia approved of this kind of thinking, synergizing with existing events rather than using royal influence and lavish spending to create new ones on a whim.

The rest of the morning was less enjoyable. A stage had been set up in the palace courtyard for various celebrities and other high-profile people to participate in gifting, with the public watching from beyond a cordon. Melia figured ingratiation was the main motivator of most of the guests, since pretty much all the gifts were overexpensive trinkets of no real purpose. The few artists were the most interesting, presenting her with intricate landscape works, but it still wasn't really anything she hadn't seen before.

Lunch was held in the courtyard immediately afterwards, and appeared to consist of the entirety of the kitchens. Stuck wth several dozen famous people and gossips staring at her, Melia was forced to awkwardly slide her fork under her mask to eat, and had an incredibly hard time trying to drink anything. Only Kallian seemed to notice, and all he could do was make a face that suggested "sorry but I can't really help".

After lunch came the parade. Bands, dancers, jugglers, elemental artists, every performance art that existed seemed to be represented. Melia tried very hard to keep attentive, not wanting to waste everyone's preparations, but still ended up in a muddy haze by the time it had concluded and could only recall about a quarter of what had been presented. Her early-morning excursion was coming back to bite her.

By the time the royal family returned to the palace, it was two-thirty.

Sorean turned to Melia. "Now, it is your turn. Is there anything you wish to partake in for the next few hours?"

Melia did not expect to be given any decisions. She started considering her options, but her tired mind immediately stomped out the thought. "I wish to take a rest."

"By all means. Simply ensure you are ready and present at the banquet hall for six o'clock."

Not waiting for any further comment, Melia began scampering off to her chambers. She hadn't realized how tired she was until asked what she wanted to do. Fumbling with the door, she slumped into bed and fell asleep instantly.

* * *

It turned out that Melia was even more tired than she thought she was, and remained dreamlessly dead to the world until five o'clock, the longest nap she'd had in half a century. Upon waking up she was quite confused, thinking it was morning yet seeing sunset orange sky outside, before remembering most of the day had already passed and she had somewhere to be in about an hour.

_I must look awful. Sleeping during the day never agrees with my appearance._

Still a bit groggy, Melia changed into her bathrobe, entered the bathroom, and started unbraiding her hair. Normally she would only re-braid it once a week, but figured that it would be a good idea to do so now; Yumea would always gripe at her appearance during major banquets and the like, and she wanted to provide the least ammunition.

Finishing up the re-braid after a shower, Melia exited the bathroom to see the clock reading five-thirty. _Good, that leaves ample time to choose..._ The thought trailed off as she spotted a dark fabric mass beside her bed, suspended in the air by a levitation hanger.

 _Is...is this supposed to be a dress?_ Melia tugged at the fabric, disconnecting the dress from the hanger and dropping it into her hands. Strapless and backless, it was a midnight purple with golden trimming and a complex lavender design traced across the waistband and bottom edge of the large flowing gown. _This fabric is unsettlingly thin. And where is the rest of the top half? There is no way this meager offering can provide sufficient coverage, let alone support. Who is the fool that gave this the figurative stamp of approval?_ She couldn't say she was surprised to be told what to wear to the banquet - the clothes she had been wearing ealier had been removed from the room - but she did not expect it to be something both new and unacceptably revealing. With a few moments more reflection, she concluded that while it made sense that "the child princess shall bare no skin" would no longer hold as an adult, it was still maddening for the tailors to seemingly assume she was desperate to escape the decree.

Dismissively tossing the dress onto the bed, Melia spotted a pair of golden pumps placed beside her desk, with a pair of wrist-length gloves on the chair and what looked to be a jewelry box on the desk itself. _They can't even get the gloves right? Should it not be obvious that all of my gloves are of at least elbow length?_ She was starting to get rather upset at the apparent lack of care for her preferences.

 _Well, I guess I should at least try this thing on._ It took her about five minutes to manipulate the dress into the proper position on her body. The waistband ended up feeling uncomfortably tight, and while the chestpiece latched onto her skin disturbingly well and ended up with more coverage than she initially suspected, it still felt like she was missing half of it.

 _I will NOT be going out there half-naked like this. I must have an overcoat that matches this reasonably well._ With two or three candidates in mind, Melia sourly stepped to the wardrobe and opened the door.

The wardrobe was empty. Save for the suitcases in the corner, it was a clean slate, with not a single article of clothing present.

It took a few moments to process what she was seeing. Once the realization was complete, she became quite angry at the amount of disrespect she felt she was being shown, and stormed over to her Practice Staff to fire a whole dozen imaginary bolts out of it.

After stomping around stewing for another several minutes, Melia listlessly dumped the provided jewelry box out onto the bed, trying to find something half-decent.

 _Too large. Tacky. Ugly. Even tackier, somehow. All metal no jewels. Also too large. What is_ this _even supposed to be?_ She pulled out a mass of jewels linked together in a series of chains that would reach down to her knees if she wore it as a necklace.

Her anger and indignance boiled over.

_No, I've had it. They think they know what I want? They think they can turn MY birthday, my LAST TWO-DIGIT BIRTHDAY, into some sort of adults-only dinner party with me as the trophy centerpiece? I'll show them._

She violently jammed the pumps onto her feet and stormed towards the door. _Dress and shoes, that's all you're getting. No necklace, no headdress, no rings, no bag, no gloves, no make-up, NOTHING!_

Melia blasted open the bedroom door with a mighty kick and started stomping towards the banquet hall, not even looking to see if there was an escort waiting for her. _You think you can dress me up like a bimbo and I won't care? You think my birthday is just an excuse to waste money and socialize?_

Continuously mentally ranting while thundering down the corridors, it took until almost arriving at her destination to notice that she had not seen a single other person anywhere in the palace since she left her room. It was such an unusual realization that she was stunned out of her raging trance.

 _Where is everyone? Considering the distance I've travelled, I should have seen at least twelve guards by now._ The anger returned, though in a more controlled fashion. _How could they all abandon their posts just to attend a birthday feast? Irresponsible, the lot of them. I'll see if I can't give them a piece of my mind._

Melia finally reached the entrance to the banquet hall. It was completely silent, though this wasn't informative, as the closed doors were highly soundproof.

Still fuming but rather calm about it, she considered the next move. _Someone is going to express discontent at my simple appearance. I will say something to the effect of, "As an adult, I have the right to control my appearance." If they try to weasel out of that, then comes something like "So I'm_ not _an adult, and I_ should _have been provided ample clothing?"_

The clock tower chimed six, interrupting her planning. She gave the doors a firm push.

The banquest hall was spectacularly decorated. The ceiling and upper walls had been wired to appear as the starry sky outside, giving the illusion of an open-air gathering. Holographic streamers of every colour hopped across the ceiling like coiled springs. Perfectly spherical balloons, some glowing and some translucent, hovered across the room, gracefully avoiding contact with any other objects. Soft, ambient music filled the room from an indeterminable location.

The room was filled with dozens of round tables that each seated six, each one with a unique colour of linens. There didn't seem to be an empty seat in the house; it appeared as if every single occupant of the palace was present, from janitors, chefs, and maintenance workers to guards, tailors, and scholars.

"Ho!" Sorean's booming call cut off the chatter; it came from an elevated table at the opposite side of the room where the rest of the imperial family was seated. "The lady of the day has arrived!"

The room broke out into applause as everyone stood up. Melia was somewhat dumbfounded; none of her previous birthdays had had this much of an "audience". Then again, this was the "you're now an adult" party, and as such would probably be more like a formal imperial event than a birthday celebration.

Anger defused by nervousness, she started walking across the room towards the head table. Looking around as she passed through the continuous applause, she recognized many faces she hadn't seen in decades, such as her various elementary school instructors. It was quite disconcerting to see so many people she knew out of their typical getups and in formal wear.

Upon reaching her seat, Melia remained standing, expecting to be told when to sit down. Unsurprisingly, Sorean kicked it off by raising his glass.

"A toast! To the princess Melia Antiqua, to her pinpoint intellect and unadorned beauty, to a long and fulfilling life!"

A cheer rose up as everyone took a drink and began to sit back down. Melia followed suit in the sitting, trying to avoid reacting to what she considered an overpoweringly-cheesy toast. The phrase "unadorned beauty" in particular seemed very off-key to her, and felt more like a backhanded compliment on her accessory-less appearance than anything.

The serving of food began, with the waiters helping themselves once done with the others. As usual for most feasts, Melia was given about one-and-a-half times the amount of food she could handle, though at least none of it was stuff she flat-out disliked. More thirsty than anything, given what had happened at lunch, she reached for her glass before realizing it was full of a pitch-black liquid that smelled strongly of darkgrapes.

 _Ugh. Alcohol, yet another thing that adults expect those coming of age to be desperate for._ She had tried darkgrape wine for the first time about seven years prior, at her father's 300th birthday feast. Kallian had offered some to her under the premise of "You'll be expected to have this someday, you should find out now if you can stomach it." It was a sound idea, but the results turned out to be less than promising, with her becoming dizzy and overtalkative after just half a glass. She despised the experience of losing mental control and and was very keen on never re-living it.

 _I suppose I must simply hope that being older means having more resistance to its effects._ She took a tiny sip, just enough to say "this doesn't taste bad", and started on her food.

There wasn't much to do aside from eating. Sorean and Kallian were having a discussion on the clothing economy, something that Melia had just enough knowledge of to know she should stay out of it. Yumea offered her opinion every now and then, but mostly sat quietly with a look of disgust on her face - as she tended to do at all of Melia's in-palace birthday celebrations.

Bored, Melia cast her gaze across the room. Her four personal bodyguards were situated three tables away on her left, along with the chief and second-in-command. She spotted Reddel in a two-table group of ethermasters, looking quite strange in a mustard-coloured jacket. She couldn't find Alvis, though even given that he would be the only Homs in the room, it was difficult to recognize anyone at the farthest tables.

As expected, after dinner came the cake - or rather, two dozen large cakes, each seasoned with a different spice. Melia was glad she was not asked to cut the first slice; she honestly did not trust herself with large sharp knives. A bit overfilled, she only took a small slice and sat in silence listening to the various garbled discussions occurring around her.

"Oh yes, before it escapes me again." Sorean turned directly to Melia. "In accordance with your newfound adulthood, I see it fit to expand your privleges."

Melia sensed there would be a catch to this, but still offered her attention.

"You are now free to leave the palace at any time, provided you are masked and accompanied by at least one guard. Alternatively, you may continue to use the transporters to have anonymous excursions, also at your leisure."

_This is a logical continuation of giving me fewer and fewer restrictions and objectives during excursions. But I don't expect to be going out any more often just because I can._

"Secondly, you may now order food from the kitchens at any time. Within a few sensible restrictions, of course."

_I don't see myself ordering snacks and the like between meals when I've done well without them so far._

"And thirdly, you now have control over the Villa of the Second Consort, henceforth known as the Imperial Villa. You may live there once again should you so choose."

This was the surprising one. While she had of course been upset to leave the villa when moved into the palace, once over the initial reaction she had never even considered that going back was possible - mostly because it was lodged in her head as "mother's house", and so effectively vanished alongside her.

"...I suppose that is something I shall have to consider." _Though I doubt I will accept the offer. It seems like it would be nothing but an inconvenience to reside outside the palace proper.  
_

With the meal concluded, the gift-giving began. Attendees began filing to and from the storage room next door to retrieve their gifts, concealed by cloths, and one by one stepped up to the head table to reveal them. The offerings were not quite as disappointing as the ones from the public in the morning, but there were still no real standouts - ornate dishes and silverware, over-the-top jewelry, small artworks and sculptures, scented candles, and cosmetics.

Things got a bit more unique when those who Melia knew more personally started to reach the front. Reddel had sealed a bolt inside a solid glass ball before dispelling it, turning the sphere into a veiny crackle of sparkling lines. Aizel, Hogard, Garan, and Damil pooled their resources to procure a bouquet of longroses, bred to survive for months or even years when displayed in a vase. Alvis had somehow commissioned a holopiece of her, about eight centimetres tall on a round base. Yumea clearly did not care, her gift one of the many overblown necklaces. But Kallian's gift was a book: _Heart of the Prognosticus_ , a two-toned blend of comedy and romance against impending doom. And Sorean, the last to present his present, revealed a purple tea hat with six lavender roses on the front, which Melia jitteringly donned to the applause of everyone.

With the presents sent off to be delivered where they now belonged, most of the maintenance staff and guards left while everyone else began to wander around and socialize. Melia considered the party now over, but knew she wouldn't be allowed to leave for quite a while, and was probably also expected to participate in the socialization.

Kallian, the only other one left at the head table, leaned in. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Melia hesitated. The day itself was indeed not bad, but she could sense that there was at least one unwanted surprise still in store. She decided to change the subject. "How was it possible for every member of the guard to be present here without compromising the security of the palace?"

"It was quite simple, actually. All it took was to spread a bit of misinformation that extra security measures were being taken, to fool any would-be interlopers into believing today would be a poor choice for their deeds. Since any important persons were in the same room as all the guards, and any important artifacts have their own independent security systems, the risk was more minimal than it would seem. I believe similar if not identical tactics were used for my adulthood birthday feast."

"...What was your adulthood feast like?" Melia was only twelve when Kallian became of age, so she had no memory of it.

Kallian pondered. "It was quite similar to this, all-in-all. Impressive decorations, splendid food, many cakes, and a wealth of gifts." He started chuckling. "But then I imbibed too much wine, had difficulty walking straight, and spectacularly tripped onto the floor. Not even Father could keep himself from laughing."

Melia still had a hard time believing the image of "troublemaker Kallian"; it just didn't fit with the personality she knew.

Kallian took his drink and stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think we both ought to mingle with the crowd." He walked away.

Now alone, Melia glanced at her wineglass, still half-full. Kallian's anecdote was at severe odds with her thirst. _At least I got through half a glass with no apparent effects. But how do I know where the line is without crossing it? ...Well, I know that time is a factor. Perhaps I will be okay if I continue to go extremely slowly._

Not wanting to attract attention by sitting alone at the head table, Melia reluctantly picked up her glass and started wandering around the room, trying to make it look like she had somewhere to be and so should not be disturbed. It didn't work for very long.

"Ahh, Your Highness." Lorithia, the head of the Ministry of Research, had sidled up. "How goes it?"

"...Fine." Melia was not very fond of Lorithia. Sure, she had a usefully brilliant mind, but she quite liked parading it around and always seemed to know way more than she was supposed to. It didn't help that the height difference between the two meant that Melia was almost eye-level with her disturbingly large breasts.

"Good, good." Lorithia swirled her drink around. "Tell me, Your Highness, how would you feel if I told you that you have another present on the way?"

 _No, I don't need any more useless presents._ "I would find it difficult to believe that any further gifts would be of unique qualities."

"Of course. There are only so many things that a princess could possess." A dramatic pause. "But I daresay you could not say no to your own personal craft?"

Melia didn't know what to make of this. Generally speaking, aside from the scout ships that surveyed the wilderness and the cargo ships that supplied the city with resources from Eryth Sea and beyond, the entire High Entian society was within walking distance of itself. Personal vehicles certainly did exist - such as the imperial yacht, which her father would use to occasionally take a few days' break from royal life - but were often marks of excessive wealth and eccentricity more than a practicality. She had absolutely no idea what she'd do with something like that.

"...That is not something I have ever considered."

"Well, I am sure that once you do consider it, you will find a great deal of uses for the freedom it will bring." Lorithia took a large pull of her drink. "I don't believe the Emperor wants you to know just yet, but a little anticipation never hurt anyone."

This was something else that bothered Melia about Lorithia: an almost casual disregard for some of her father's lesser requests. She felt compelled to speak her mind about it. "While I appreciate advance knowledge of events, I do not condone secrets being spoiled before their progenitor is prepared."

Lorithia looked a bit slighted but recovered quickly. "Do not worry about it. If anything, I will take your excitement as motivation to progress more quickly. Take care, princess." She turned away.

Melia scoffed, upset that her attitude towards the "spoiled surprise" was distorted into "excitement". _It would be nice for her to stop misrepresenting me._

"Hello, Lady Melia." Reddel was the next person to address her. "You are well?"

"Fine." It was uncomfortable to address the instructor outside the teaching environment.

"Indeed." He twirled his mustache. "Well, I have news that may interest you. Just moments ago, Mr. Keldon has informed me that he believes you are ready to possess a staff of your own."

Melia didn't know what to expect, but it was not this. "Really?" She was both excited for and apprehensive at the idea.

"I myself am surprised at this decision, but I certainly cannot disagree with it." A small pause. "Of course, it's not quite as simple as saying "yes". Over the next few months I shall be searching for the best craftsman available, and from then it may be several more months before it is ready. But make no mistake, it is on its way."

This was unquestionably the best news Melia had heard all day.

* * *

By the time Melia escaped from the banquet hall, it was eleven-thirty. She was massively tired from all the conversing she was effectively forced to do and slightly light-headed from the glass of wine she had eventually completed, but above all relieved that the long day was almost over.

 _I'm still a little thirsty,_ she considered as she walked slowly towards her chambers. _I need to find a way to build up a resistance to the effects of wine, so I can drink a decent amount without fear. I wonder what can be done about beginning to have it on a regular basis, such as for dinner on Saturdays. I'm sure that Father could not refuse if I explain my reasoning._

Reaching her room, she noticed that she had a new nightgown, coloured mauve instead of lavender, lying on her bed instead of the mess of jewelry she had dumped on it earlier.

 _Finally, I can take this stupid thing off._ After placing her hat on the desk, Melia had her dress off in seconds, carelessly tossing it down the laundry chute, and replaced it with the new nightgown. It was a fair bit larger than the old one, long enough to completely cover her even if she were to grow five more centimetres. _Much better. Oh yes, how is my wardrobe looking now?_

She opened up the wardrobe doors to find that it was fully-stocked again, which was a relief. But closer inspection revealed a sinister change to the general styles available: shorter skirts, shorter sleeves, lower cuts, thinner torsos, and higher heels. It seemed as if an invisible directive had been changed from "hide it" to "flaunt it".

 _And there it is again, that assumption that new adults want out of their kid rules instantly._ The unusual wording of her inner monologue revealed both her tiredness and frustration.

Part of the reason Melia so disliked showing skin, aside from the imperial decree on child princesses, was a very low opinion of her body. She disliked the shortness and skinniness that resulted in her notoriously poor physical strength, even though she recognized them as situational advantages. She was mostly over not having features such as full wings and pointed ears, and didn't inherit any potentially ugly Homs traits such as acne or body hair, but every now and then she would still imagine how much easier life would be as a pureblood. Most of all, she hated the obtrusiveness of her breasts, which were about three times as big as she would prefer and seemed to always be in the way. Overall, she was effectively desensitized to being repeatedly told that her beauty and attractiveness were top-notch, and she hated looking at any part of herself in the mirror.

Melia's sourness over her new wardrobe abated somewhat upon seeing that there was still a decent selection of overcoats available, while the contents of her dresser remained unchanged, leaving all her long gloves and leggings intact. _It looks like these will be seeing much more use now._

Dropping into bed, she recounted what exactly had happened today. Her new title was "Lady Melia", she could leave the palace at will yet still had to remain disguised as a royal, she had a bunch of new possessions that she wouldn't notice the majority of, all her clothes were more revealing, the Ministry of Research was building her a personal ship, and the process had begun to get her a staff. All in all, she really only cared about the last one.


	13. Wind of Change

Only a week in, Melia was not having a very good December. She came down with a cold on Friday that effectively ruined the entire weekend, and on Tuesday, she slipped and tumbled down the entirety of the third-floor staircase. She walked into her Wednesday training session almost expecting something to go wrong.

Against all expectations, nothing went wrong. She was getting very good at controlling her Healing Gift, now capable of extracting only a hand-sized parcel of vitality, and at the end of the hour, Reddel estimated that she could move on to something new in a few months.

"In fact," he said, "if everything goes perfectly, it may even be next month."

_Perfection is unrealistic,_ Melia thought. "I look forward to it."

Before Reddel could respond, a messenger entered the room, carrying a large, flat black case with bronze trimming. The case had a letter loosely attached to the top.

"Mr. Reddel, a package has arrived for you."

"Ah, excellent, perfect timing. Thank you." Reddel took the case and started reading the letter as the messenger bowed and left.

Melia expected this to be a personal matter and prepared to leave, putting down the Training Staff. "I shall see you next week."

"Please hold on for just a moment."

Confused, Melia remained still. It was quite unusual for Reddel to keep her beyond a session's end. She waited for him to finish reading the letter.

"Very good." Reddel removed the letter from the case. "Well, here you are then!" He held out the case to Melia.

_...what?_ Even more confused, Melia slowly took the case, which was surprisingly light. _What is this about? Was this not addressed to you? Why-_

"Aren't you going to open it?"

_...oh, all right._ Melia placed the case on a nearby table, unlatched it, and lifted the lid.

It was an ether staff. Beige and grey in colour, it had a teardrop-shaped head with eight wing-like structures for decoration and a flared diamond on the bottom. The two ends of the handle were ornately bevelled.

It had completely escaped Melia's mind that she was to be getting a personal staff sooner rather than later. Surprised and excited, she popped the staff out of the case and started moving her hands across it, getting a feel for it.

"Crafted by a Mr. Karl Swiddle," explained Reddel, "this Protect Staff is composed of scupperwood and powered by an amethyst dipped in pure ether. Its classical design is not uncommon amongst the populace, yet signifies its practioner is no mere beginner - though I suspect it will rise significantly in popularity once the princess is seen with it."

Melia was not an expert on staffs, but she could tell this one was special. _Zero imperfections. Perfectly smooth. Symmetrical in all directions. I_ _t feels almost weightless._ "It's perfect."

"I'm glad you agree." Reddel opened a hinge in the bottom part of the case, revealing a cleaning kit. "And supplemented with only the highest-quality maintenance tools."

Taking a step back, Melia started twirling the staff around in circles. _This is effortless._

"Now, I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but this staff is not to be trifled with. It is a legitimate weapon, and while you certainly may practice elementals and ether arts with it, whether you should outside an approved environment is quite another matter. I strongly recommend you continue to utilize your Practice Staff on your own time."

"I understand." _Elementals are far too dangerous to toy with in my chambers or other such confined spaces. Though perhaps aquas are benign enough-_ Not paying full attention, Melia dropped the spinning staff. Unexpectedly, however, it continued to spin in midair, hovering exactly where she had let go of it.

Reddel nodded with satisfaction. "This is the true test of whether a personalized staff matches its owner: whether the bond is strong enough to overcome the forces of nature. And without much surprise, it has passed with flying colours. As long as you intend to possess this staff, nothing in this world can remove it from your grasp against your will."

Melia took hold of the spinning staff again, recalling the time when an assassin had kicked the Training Staff out of her hands. _That's one issue I will never have to worry about again._

"Now, I don't think I need to keep you any longer from whatever is next on your schedule. Have a nice day."

"Thank you." Melia closed and picked up the empty case with her free hand and left the room, heading straight to her chambers for an hour of free time.

_I wonder if I should be carrying my new staff everywhere I go. Well, not that I really go anywhere. But if anyone tries to attack me in the palace again, I'll be ready._

Arriving to her room, she placed the staff case upright against the desk and compared the Protect Staff with the Practice Staff, noting that the latter had a larger head and longer handle. The idea of wielding two staffs at once popped into her head, but she dismissed it as foolish and dangerous.

_I wonder what materials the Practice Staff is composed of. ... Actually, maybe I can find out.  
_

Dropping the old staff on the bed and keeping the new one in her grasp, Melia hurried out of the room and towards the imperial library. Being an adult granted her much greater access to the library's resources, and upon realizing such, she had been spending much free time reading up on just about everything.

Arriving at the library, she started searching through the shelves for a book on ether staffs. The stock was well-organized, but it was still sometimes a chore to find anything, simply due to the sheer volume of volumes. After a few minutes, she pulled out _Branch of the Heavens: Ether staff construction, composition, and utilization_ , and started to sift through it.

As she had hoped, the book was a highly useful source of info. She learned that Practice Staffs contain a core of six ether crystals, attuned to cancel each other out while still channeling the expected energies, and were typically constructed of whiplarch, the softest of the nine viable staffwoods. The scupperwood of her new Protect Staff was chosen for its free-flowing nature, lacking in defenses but quick to respond, while its ether-infused amethyst core was known for refusing to function to amateur practioners. Staffs could in fact be made of metal, which tended to improve their resiliency at the expense of power and flexibility, and so was quite rare outside specific situations. Finally, the natural ether wavelength of inactive staffs can result in gravitating creatures towards them, even species that do not normally collect objects, making it not uncommon to slay a beast and discover that it was hoarding a forgotten staff.

_This was forty minutes well-spent._ Melia closed the book and moved to return it to the shelf. On her way, she passed by Kallian, who must have entered the library after her and was reading what looked to be a biology textbook. He sensed her presence and looked up.

"Oh hello Melia. I see you have taken to your new staff quite well."

Unsure how to reply, Melia simply nodded.

Kallian nodded back. "Your instructor approached me some time ago asking for a second opinion with regards to material composition. I think it's safe to say we got it right."

_Of course he had a hand in it. He'd want to ensure it goes well._

"Oh yes, there is something I am to ask you about." Kallian absentmindedly flicked the corners of the book's pages. "Father wishes to know why you have have not gone on an excursion since March. Why is that?"

Melia didn't know how to answer the question, and didn't particularly want to. The truth was unpleasant: after just five minutes of being in public in her new wardrobe, effectively advertising that she was legally an adult, she could sense that the public perception of her had changed from "some random adolescent" to "easy pickings". Whether this was actually true or just an overblown instinct, it simply didn't feel safe to go outside anymore.

"I...er...I suppose that...um...that I am simply less interested in...in doing tasks of no meaningful purpose outside the palace."

"...Very well. I shall see you at dinner." Kallian went back to reading.

Melia continued on her way, her mood shot. _He instantly knew that wasn't the real reason. This is going to be discussed at dinner, and will probably result in nothing good. Probably a mandate to leave the palace on a regular basis._ She looked down at the staff in her hand. _Well, I suppose at least I won't be defenseless outside anymore._

* * *

It was the last week of January when it finally happened.

"You are ready to learn your fourth elemental."

_Excellent. It will be somewhat annoying to be forced to decide what to leave out of a lineup of three, but more options is always a good thing._ "I am ready."

Reddel nodded. "Again, we shall see what you can do with nothing but its name: wind."

Melia considered how she would go about summoning a gale. _Is this to be similar to aquas, with focus on the beneficial properties, or like the aggresive energies of bolts and flares? Let's see if I can succeed with a combination of the two._ She started focusing on a strong, constant wind - powerful enough to cause havoc in the streets, but predictable enough for maximum turbine efficiency. After not getting much reaction after fifteen seconds, she started shifting the windspeed in both directions until she found a sweetspot: a wind strong enough to impede opposing motion while not overwhelming those trying to move alongside it. An airy feeling began to swirl around her staff's handle, slowly getting stronger. Seventy seconds after finding the sweetspot, the summoning was complete, and a miniature whirlwind appeared in the head of the staff.

"Very, very good." Reddel clapped his hands together. "You have successfully fused your instincts of your three known elementals to arrive to the correct way of summoning this one."

Melia brought the gale out of her staff and stared into it. She could feel an updrafting breeze circling the mass of swirling air.

"The wind elemental, like aquas, is also one of support. Its natural aura boosts reaction time and physical mobility, which will improve the accuracy and evasion of you and your allies. When discharged, it deals above-average damage, but with no extra effects."

Melia discharged the new elemental, which collided with the wall and vanished into a whispy greenish cloud, before summoning a new one in just over a minute. _This was not at all difficult to learn. All it needs is practice to reach usable speed._ She spent the next two minutes producing a further two whirlwinds, stacking up the breezy and uplifting feeling. It always seemed odd to her that the presence of an elemental didn't make it any harder or easier to summon further copies.

Reddel looked at the trio of gales. "It is clear that your tenth art will pose little challenge to master. It should not be long before the eleventh is ready."

It had never occured to Melia exactly how many arts she had been gathering; she had subconsciously lumped all the elementals into the same proficiency. The number spiked her curiosity. "How many arts am I slated to learn?"

"Four more after this one, for a total of fourteen." Reddel paused to think for a moment. "Although there is an optional fifteenth art, which I have no doubt you will be equal to the challenge of."

_Since two of those future arts will be the earth and ice elementals, that leaves two others, plus the...extra one. That makes discharging, six summons, Spear Break, and seven other ether arts. That...actually seems a little low. Don't my personal guards have seventeen arts each? Even if tripling counts as one, which it arguably could be given the effort required to initially master it, that's one too few. It's likely I'm just missing something._

* * *

**_COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION_ **

_28 March Sorean 8  
_

_Evaluator: Keldon, James_

_PERSONAL INFORMATION_

_Name: Antiqua, Melia  
_

_Gender: F_

_Race: High Entia father, Homs mother_

_D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 76)_

_Height: 154cm_

_Weight: 47.2kg_

_Specialization: Ether staff_

_STATISTICS_

_Note: Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale._

_Physical Strength: **14** A healthy increase from last year. Still low compared to the average. No further comment.  
_

_Ether Attunation: **51** Continues to be unnaturally high - not that this is a problem, of course.  
_

_Agility: **14** Slow but constant growth here, no comment.  
_

_Resilience: **209** Melia seems to be equalizing out slightly, able to remain upright for proportionally longer and reducing the time spent active while down._ _  
_

_Overall Combat Level: **~1.4** As is typical for adults, progression in these areas is accelerating. Nothing more needs to be said at this time.  
_

_ARTS_

_Elemental Discharge: **A+** Burst aura now activates in 15 discharges, though it has been seen at 14 as well, which is somewhat unusual.  
_

_Summon Bolt: **A** Summoning time varies between 2 and 3 seconds.  
_

_Summon Flare: **A** Summoning time varies between 2 and 3 seconds_ _.  
_

_Summon Aqua: **A-** Summoning time varies between 4 and 5 seconds._

_Summon Wind: **C** Summoning time varies between 50 and 60 seconds, with no other differences from her other elementals._

_Burst End: **B-** The defensive drop of this art now measures approximately 6% and leaves about 4 discharges worth of burst aura left over.  
_

_Hypnotise: **B+** Casting time varies between 5 to 9 seconds, and can withstand most interruptions.  
_

_Shadow Stitch: **B** Casting time ranges between 3 and 6 seconds, with trivial target selection, and ensnares targets for a total of 10 seconds.  
_

_Healing Gift: **B** Melia shows strong control of vitality extraction, and can perform the art in 9 seconds.  
_

_Spear Break: **F** Nothing more needs to be said here that has not already been. At this point, it is frankly baffling how an otherwise model student cannot grasp the simplest of break arts.  
_

_Overall Arts Grade: **B** If I may speak candidly, I consider it something of a disappointment that the most naturally-gifted ethermistress I have ever graded has no future in the profession simply due to being royalty.  
_

_MOCK BATTLE ANALYSIS_

_I was present at Melia's second mock battle, which occured this past month. She shows a strong grasp of basic combat logic and preparation, but falters when under stress and pressure. It is the classic example of knowing what call to make versus the ability to execute and form a backup plan on the spot. She certainly seems capable of following orders, but time will tell as to whether she can reliably give them._

* * *

As expected, Melia progressed quickly with summoning wind elementals, and she estimated that she would be given her next art sometime after more than one year but less than a year and a half. It was a nice thought to hang onto as she began the final and most challenging segment of her schooling: the high-level politics necessary to rule Alcamoth. While she put just as much effort into it and was getting similar levels of success as all her previous subjects, she didn't understand why she had to learn any more than the low- and medium-level stuff, as she would never be high enough on the royal totem pole to put the high-level knowledge to use.

On the first Friday of August, she returned to the classroom after lunch to find Kallian finishing a conversation with the instructor.

"Excellent timing as usual, Melia." Kallian left the room and beckoned for her to follow. "Your afternoon lesson has been postponed. Come, we have a job for you."

Bewildered, Melia followed. _What could this possibly be about?_

The two quickly arrived at the Northwesten Advisor's Room to find Sorean and Mr. Henriques, head of the Ministry of Environment.

"Thank you for arriving promptly, Melia." Sorean turned to the minister. "You may explain the situation."

Henriques nodded and began. "Five months ago, a zoological transport crashed on Anu Shore. At the time, it was believed that all its escapees had been retrived. But in the past few weeks, a Bunnit infestation has revealed itself. Obviously, their presence is upsetting the natural order. As you may have heard, a hunting society intends to take the opportunity for a mass hunt, but this will simply agitate the creatures and make it more difficult to contain them. We would have preferred to gather more data on the situation before acting, but now we need a way to eliminate the creatures all at once before action is taken tomorrow."

Melia nodded; she had heard of the situation about a week ago when the public first learned of it, and was aware that a hunting party was starting to gather around Anu Shore in preparation for a weekend of fun. But she had no idea why she was being brought into it. _You can't be expecting me to talk them out of it? Or try and inconvenience them somehow? That would be so foolish-_

Sorean cut off her thoughts. "And this is where you come in. Your task is to eliminate the Bunnit infestation before the hunters can interfere."

Melia's brain screeched to a halt, completely baffled.

"Without a large squad to scare them off, it should not be difficult to ensure all the Bunnits are accounted for," added Henriques. "Once one of their number is in danger, the rest will all converge to aid it. The newborns should be old enough to join in, yet not enough to be dangerous."

"Should you wish, you can be provided with a set of protective boots that should render it difficult for the creatures to injure you, though they will hinder your movements." Sorean indicated a pair of Shell Boots that were resting on a chair.

The information entered Melia's mind but had yet to be successfully comprehended. She was still utterly stupefied from being told she was expected to go out and murder a bunch of bunnies with no prior experience.

Kallian was the first to pick up on the reaction. "Are you okay, Melia? You look quite pale."

Melia managed to clunkily get a few words out. "Um, forgive me, but...how... _why_...I...I do not..." She shook her head vigorously and managed to get herself re-engaged. "Why would I be sent to do this task when a team of exterminators could accomplish it much more effectively?"

Sorean exchanged a straight-faced look with Kallian before responding. "We have been searching for a test of your abilities in the field for some time now, and this is a prime opportunity for you to demonstrate what you are capable of."

"But...but is there not major risk to myself?" Melia knew she couldn't refuse the order, and had basically resorted to stalling while she tried to come to terms with it.

"Less than you would think," Kallian said. "This subspecies of Bunnit is not clever; they enjoy watching a fight as much as participating, and more often than not end up only attacking with two or three of their number at a time. And in this case, you would be up against only two adults. I see you having quite an easy time once you get past any initial hurdles."

"Indeed," Sorean nodded. "You possess more than enough tools to complete this task with minimal difficulty."

_This is madness. You can't honestly expect me to...to go on some sort of killing spree? Just so you don't have to get some experts to do it? And was it not your opinion not long ago that I not be...not...not not, notnotnot._ The train of thought rolled off the rails and into a pit of wordless exasperation.

* * *

"Good luck."

Kallian gestured as the Issor he was aboard climbed upwards, where it would observe from above the shoreline.

Standing alone on Anu Shore with little direction to go on, Melia gripped her staff tightly. Being told to be an exterminator was one thing, but actually being left in the wilderness to carry it out was quite another. She had the distinct feeling this was part of a replacement for the ancient coming-of-age trial.

Turning to the sea, she spotted the cruise ship the hunters had rented to lounge around on before getting things going tomorrow. The Issor had flown unusually close by it when depositing her on the beach, as if intentionally ensuring that her presence was known to them. It wouldn't take a very strong pair of binoculars for them to watch the spectacle.

Adjusting her headdress and mask, Melia looked back towards the foilage on the landmass. She had been told that it was likely to find the younger Bunnits in the bushes, and so should look there first. With difficulty, she started moving towards the nearest leafy piles. She had decided to take the extra protection of the Shell Boots, but they were indeed very cumbersome, and two-thirds of walking speed was the best she could do.

It didn't take long to find her first target upon reaching the bushes. A single young Bunnit, knee-high, was fishing around for berries.

Melia sighed. _This creature, and indeed all its bretheren, has done nothing wrong, yet it must be killed to preserve the balance of nature. A balance that was accidentally upset by our species. What a depressing world this can be._

She gingerly stepped closer to the Bunnit. It noticed her presence and turned around, unsure whether to respond passively or aggressively.

_I need to wound it enough so it cries for help without accidentally killing it or letting it run away._

Aiming the flat side of her staff towards the creature, Melia swung it downwards, bashing the Bunnit over the head. The impact felt very different than the training dummies she was used to, giving off the sensation of breaking a branch hidden in a stiff pillow. It was quite disturbing.

The Bunnit started yelping incessantly, either unwilling or unable to move.

_I suppose that's the first part successful. Now I just have to wait-_

It didn't take long for many more Bunnits, all of similar size to the first, to start popping out of the bushes. Within fifteen seconds there was several dozen of them.

_...well, that was simple enough._ She gave the first victim a second smack, ending the noise and knocking a chunk of hair off it.

The pack let out a dissonant roar and started hopping towards Melia, but she was ready. A single blast of Shadow Stitch locked all of them in place, and from there it was rather trivial to launch bolts and flares at them. The smell of burning fur filled the air while crystals and corpses began to litter the ground.

A few latecomers appeared from the bushes, but only one of them managed to reach Melia before being spotted and shot, and it was easily dealt with via a staff smash. She was rather surprised at how smoothly the whole thing was going - the creatures were weaker than she expected and it seemed she had chosen the perfect strategy, with them completely unable to break free of Shadow Stitch even after several minutes. But it was still unpleasant to be surrounded by freshly-killed animals. Even knowing it was the right thing to do, it felt very wrong.

After what seemed to be about four or five dozen young Bunnits, the parents finally emerged from hiding. They had grown quite large from the food of the out-of-place habitat, big enough to strangle Melia if they had the fine motor control, and the female looked close to giving birth again. Moving slower than the children, they bounced towards their enemy.

With a pause in the action from having dealt with all the younglings, Melia had the opportunity to unleash her Burst End, slowing the progress of the two remaining opponents. She then focused on the male first, setting it on fire with a flare and striking it with a bolt. It went down surprisingly easy, as if it had been fat and lazy for the past few weeks and was not ready to be fighting. She finished it off with a second bolt just before the female leaped with surprising speed and pounced on her.

"Ieaouhfffff!" Melia was now laying on the ground with a big fat rabbit sitting on her. It was heavier than she was, and made it very hard to breathe. She started recklessly pounding the Bunnit in the face with the handle of her staff, unable to swing it with any force. The creature took the blows with minimal apparent effect, though it was dissuaded from trying to bite her, and seemed to instead decide to just sit until the flailing lessened.

Acting without thinking, Melia summoned a flare, kept it in the head of her staff, and pressed it against the enemy's face. It didn't take long for the Bunnit to spring away in pain, though the leap put even more force on Melia's torso and knocked the wind out of her again. The lack of air over the past half-minute made it hard to think, but she did manage to discharge the flare, causing another fur fire. The Bunnit, apparently believing its assailant was badly wounded and could be finished off later, decided to dash towards the nearby shore to put itself out.

It didn't get very far. Melia succeeded in getting off another Shadow Stitch, trapping it after just a few metres. A few seconds later, she unloaded water, wind, and electric elementals into it, and upon finally standing up finished the job with a kick to the head.

The beach grew quiet once more. Exhausted, Melia summoned an aqua for regeneration, jammed her staff into the sand, and thoughtlessly sat down on the dead mother.

_What a scrape. The juveniles were not a threat, but the parents as a group were just barely within my range of competence. I suppose it is necessary to have experience against a legitimate enemy, but given the triviality of the young ones, another month or two of practice would have been nice. I just hope that success here doesn't mean I have to do anything similar again in the future. Regardless of its necessity, killing innocent creatures is not fun._

"Perfect." The beach lit up in a series of white flashes. "You're so photogenic, Your Highness. This'll make a statement to the public for sure."

Disgusted that the paparazzi had followed her here, Melia stood up and turned around with a sour look on her face - not that it could be seen, with her headdress and mask on. Three reporters were reviewing the shots of her sitting on the dead Bunnit with her back to the camera, with her staff in the sand, an aqua above her head, and scores of corpses in the background. Alongside them were a few cooks of the royal kitchens, with Kallian's Issor just landing.

"Incredible news story, front-page material." One of the reporters had produced a news camera while another stuck a microphone into Melia's face. "You've single-handedly saved Anu Shore from an invasive species, Your Highness. Can you go over some of the best moments of that savage battle?"

"No." Melia plucked her staff out of the beach and walked towards Kallian. The media had an easy enough time making fun of her; she didn't need to give them any ammunition.

Kallian looked like he was having difficulty containing a smile. "Well done, Melia. Our faith in you is well-placed as usual."

Melia said nothing in response; she could still feel the reporters hovering behind her, and was getting the feeling that they were not here by coincidence. Instead, she focused on the cooks, who were having a hushed yet excited conversation.

"I see you've noticed the...well, the cleanup crew." Kallian nodded towards the cooks. "They have been clamouring to be involved in our efforts as soon as they heard of the infestation. As you might guess, they are eager to have this much Bunnit available effectively for free. I can personally vouch for a special kind of satisfaction in seeing your own handiwork on the dinner table."

_I very much doubt I will share that sensation._ On the whole, she was the kind of person who would rather not think about where meat comes from.

"Now, let's return to Alcamoth. Father will be very pleased at this accomplishment of yours."

_As long as it doesn't turn into an expecation. Just because I succeeded doesn't mean I should ever do this again._

* * *

_6 August Sorean 8 - THE HIGH ENQUIRY \- 3G_

**MELIA PURGES BUNNITS _\- Her Highness exterminates infestation alone_**

_[Kol Jerdries, Freelancer]_

_Anyone who still believes the princess cannot fend for herself is about to be given a rude awakening._

_This past Friday, Her Highness Melia Antiqua took it upon herself to deal with the troublesome Bunnit infestation on Anu Shore first reported one week ago. Wielding her ether staff, she dispatched every one of the invasive creatures with pinpoint efficiency and no injuries to speak of._

_Princess Melia herself refused to comment, but Prince Kallian was more co-operative. "Despite having no prior experience in the field, she concocted a plan of attack and executed it to perfection, eliminating the creatures with minimal risk to herself or the surrounding environment, and ensuring that no survivors escaped notice. A team of dedicated exterminators couldn't have done it better."_

_The infestation, believed to have stemmed from a crashed transport five months ago, consisted of two adult Bunnits and approximately five dozen offspring. With the local predators unsure what to make of the new creatures, experts estimated that the accidental invaders would have consumed all the local berries and fruits within a year from now, leaving none for the native herbivores. This problem had already been identified by the Fernando Hunting Society, which was planning to deal with it in its own way before the princess intervened._

_"I'm not going to lie, we're all a bit disappointed," said Jem Quissel, president of the FHS. "We haven't had a good season in a few years, and the unexpected ones are always the most entertaining. But we respect the "don't wait, do it yourself" mentality shown by Her Highness."_

_As of this writing, it is unclear what motivated Princess Melia to take the situation into her own hands, and even less clear how she managed to convince her family to allow her to follow through with it. One thing has been made apparent, however: she is not the recessive pushover that many believe her to be._


	14. Earthly Protection

Melia was not a fan of the month of April. Sure, it began with her favourite holiday in Soltnar's Introspection, the day of sharing knowledge with others in the morning and performing self-reflection in the afternoon. But aside from that, it always seemed like the wettest and dreariest month - sure, the winter months were a bit depressing, with the most vibrant plants in hiding, but the skies always felt clearer when it was cooler. And this year it was no exception: seven straight days of rain.

It wouldn't have mattered so much if her father hadn't been pushing her very strongly to go out into public once a week. It had only been a year since he basically ordered her to have excursions every month, but that somehow had not satisfied him. She was going along with it for now, but was planning to ignore it sometime in the near future.

She had no concrete idea, but she suspected it might have something to do with the aftermath of the encounter with the Bunnits. The general public's opinion of her took a big step in a positive direction after hearing of the event: negative gossip about her was much more hushed and sparse, and more than once she had caught wind of a conversation where someone expressed disappointment that she wasn't the one lined up to take the throne. But she knew the change in opinion was only temporary; it wouldn't be long before the one day of success would be forgotten, and she would again be the inferior one in all ways.

Sitting on a bench in an empty park, with an umbrella to hide from the drizzle, Melia was doing nothing but wait until the minimum thirty minutes were up. The depressing weather made it all too easy for her thoughts to enter sourpuss territory.

 _What more could I possibly learn from being outside the palace this often? If you think I have a shortcoming in some area, just_ tell _me instead of expecting me to find it myself. You don't hesitate to point out my failures in other areas._

 _My only guess is that I'm supposed to_ want _to do things in public. But if that's the case, forcing me to do so won't help. Instead, you have to explain_ why _I'm supposed to care. Brother is the one who needs to care, he's the next emperor. I'm just the backup plan, I merely have to remain present until he has offspring.  
_

 _Incidentally, why on Bionis has Brother not made any progress in courting a future consort? He's 140, yet to my knowledge he has made little if any attempt to begin the process. There are only so many options available in his age range, and many of them would jump at the opportunity. Father is not ageless; the throne could pass at any time. What benefit is there to waiting even this long?_ He _'s the one who needs to be outside daily, looking for a viable potential consort._

_This line of thought is bogging me down. I need to counter it somehow._

Melia stood up and went to leave the park, heading towards the nearest bakery. A cupcake or something would help try to distract her from the negativity.

* * *

The dreary weather continued for several more days, resulting in the most rainfall experienced in the first half of April for the past sixty years. Luckily for Melia, she had a positive surprise waiting for her on Wednesday: her success at the wind elemental was quick and complete, leaving Reddel no choice but to give her a tougher assignment next.

"You have demonstrated exceptional command of the two offensive and two support elementals," he began. "It is now time for you to be introduced to the two defensive ones."

Excited to be shaken out of the recent funk, Melia prepared herself. _It seems a bit odd to be taught two elementals in succession, but there has been a reason for everything else so far._

"I shall give you fair warning. The elementals of earth and ice are the most difficult to summon by a significant degree. It is their solid, defensive nature that renders the correct mindset very tricky to bring about - and for earth specifically, it is hard to even describe the kind of sensation that it requires and provides."

This made sense to Melia. It was pretty easy to imagine what the other five elementals would feel like - even if the necessary mindset was counterintuitive at first - but it was hard to envision earth as anything but simply a solid surface, a combination of rock and soil that formed the majority of the Bionis. Even raw earth ether crystals didn't provide much of a sensation, radiating a feeling of a blank patch of dirt, whereas the other five types were much more distinguishable at a distance.

"I have spent quite a while deciding whether you should learn earth or ice first," Reddel continued. "In the end, I determined that the passive effect of earth - that of improving resilience against physical damage - will prove more useful to you at the moment than the ether-defensive property of ice."

Melia nodded. "Very well."

"As the nature of earth is difficult to put into words, I shall begin by demonstrating it." A moment later, an orange construct was hovering above Reddel.

Melia stared at the spinning cube. Its hard-edged form was indeed emitting quite a strange aura: primarily defensive and protective, but with a side of inviting warmth, and a smattering of the feeling of satisfaction gained from success. It was unusually complex for a single element.

 _How am I going to envision this feeling?_ She closed her eyes and began brainstorming. Having left Alcamoth only a handful of times in her life, she had very little feel for dirt, rock, and solid ground in general; while the various parks in the city did indeed sit on large swaths of soil, being disconnected from the Bionis at large for so long rendered them mostly inert of earthly ether. Every other element she had experience with - thunderstorms, the fires of the kitchens, swimming, windstorms, and the freezing device used to heal her arm four years ago. But earth was the odd one out.

_How can earth be protective in nature? You can take shelter in a cave, and feel the warmth within. You can build a house out of stone, and be satisfied with your own work. But I don't know how either of those things feel._

Melia unfurled her staff and picked what seemed like a decent starting point: the feeling of sitting in a park in the rain, under an umbrella-shaped rock. It was tricky to keep the rock in the picture, but the rest of the scene was easy enough to visualize. She kept the image in mind for a minute or two but didn't really feel like she was getting anywhere. As a result, she tried something a bit stronger: turning the drizzle into a powerful storm, moving the scene to her bedroom, and replacing the walls and ceiling with the interior of a cave. She was trying to replicate the sensation of knowing one was safe inside while simultaneously watching the terrible weather through a window.

A few minutes of concentration later, she could feel a subtle roughness along the handle of her staff. She grasped it harder and imagined holding it in the mental scene, emitting strands of chunky orange energy to keep the rocky ceiling held up against the storm. Holding the thought steady, the sensation in the staff mutated, the roughness very slowly being replaced by the same unusual combination of feelings that Reddel had demonstrated.

After a grand total of six minutes, the earth elemental finally burst forth. Melia almost dropped her staff in relief, satisfaction, and a not-insignificant amount of mental exhaustion.

Reddel clapped his hands. "Your natural affinity remains at a record pace. Even with the most difficult summon thus far, you are ahead of the curve by three minutes."

Melia curiously lowered the earth elemental into her hand and grasped it. It felt just like it looked: an unnaturally smooth, cube-shaped wireframe of rock. It seemed unusually comforting to the touch.

"The protection of earth is not limited to reducing the injuries you suffer," Reddel explained. "Like a father defending his children, it is surprisingly powerful as an offensive tool, draining the will out of foes with a potent toxin. It is a larger decision than ever before to choose between retaining your beneficial effects versus attacking enemies."

Melia lobbed the elemental back into the air and discharged it into the wall. Not striking an organic or dronautic target, it didn't do much but raise a cloud of sand as it vanished. _It is very much indeed more challenging than the other elementals, but like anything else, practice will solve it._

* * *

Unsurprisingly, the summoning of earth was far more taxing to practice than the previous four elementals, requiring over five minutes of sustained concentration for each attempt. Still, it was the good kind of exhaustion, and Melia expected that it would become her most useful elemental once fully realized.

Just after the conclusion of a June session, she left the training room to find Kallian waiting for her. She could immediately sense something was amiss - Kallian was emitting a much more impersonal mood than usual.

"Ah good, perfect timing as usual. We have a surprise for you. Come." He beckoned as he started down the hall.

 _That never means anything good._ Melia apprehensively started following.

Kallian led her into the research and development wing of the palace, where much of the highest-end technology was conceived. It was an intriguing place to wander, but the unstable aura it radiated of experimental ether crystal mixes made Melia hesitant to ever choose to go there.

The two entered a room near the very back of the palace. Used for vehicular development, it was three floors high and rather expansive, and could serve as an emergency hangar if the existing ones were to be unavailable somehow. A group of people was congregated around an empty landing pad to the left.

Kallian directed Melia towards the group, holding himself a distance away. Lorithia was present and seemed to be the ringleader of the ongoing conversation. She also recognized Pero Essorit, the head engineer of the imperial yacht.

"Well well well, the princess dear, it's nice to see you finally here." Lorithia seemed even more full of herself than usual. "You'll love to see just what we've done, it's sure to grant you loads of fun."

 _Stop the rhymes, you're not a witch._ Melia kept a straight face. She had a strong suspicion this had to do with the "personal craft" that Lorithia couldn't stop herself from reminding her about every chance they met.

Unfazed by the lack of response, Lorithia gestured towards the empty landing pad. "It's been a long time coming, Your Highness, but it is finally complete. Essorit, you may do the honours."

The engineer nodded. "After several years of development, the most cutting-edge craft of the imperial fleet is now yours to command." He flicked a switch on a nearby control pad, turning off a holoprojector and revealing that the landing pad wasn't so empty after all.

It was basically a platform, with a seat in front for the pilot and enough comfortable standing room for seven or eight people. The two engines sat under the back half and were about half the craft's total length, resting on the ground via circular pads, while the front half housed the controls and a retractable foot. The entire contraption was coloured a pleasing lavender with deep purple stripes across the sides.

"This one-of-a-kind hot rod," Lorithia explained, "wields two Landior engines of a top-secret four-crystal ether balance, capable of exceeding two hundred and fifty kilometres per hour with a turn radius of ten metres. Its feature set is spearheaded by a rank V inertial dampening matrix, alongside automatic brakes and cruise control. Up to eight passenger chairs can be materialized in several configurations. In addition, we have several plans for future upgrades, such as a roll safety gravity override and stealth parking."

"For maximum convenience," continued Essorit, "a navigation system has been installed that allows the owner to summon the craft from any location on the Bionis, as well as return it to its assigned space in the imperial hangar. As for security, it will only respond to operators of royal clearance or pre-approved pilot clearance."

Melia didn't know how she was supposed to react. _It...looks quite nice, I suppose. And those specifications seem impressive, to the degree I understand them. But I still have no real purpose for it. For example, what do I need that ridiculous top speed for? Alcamoth is only so large; I can get anywhere on foot via the transporters within an hour, or through the vents in minutes. It could cross the Bionis rather quickly, but again, I have no need nor desire for that. And unlike the vents, I cannot use it in secret, as it would in fact attract attention. There must be some sort of ulterior motive to this._

 _I guess I'll be expected to make a comment._ "It looks to be a fine piece of engineering."

"We are glad you agree." Essorit produced a tiny remote control, only four centimetres square, and held it out to Melia. The front side held four coloured buttons, while the back side was a blank screen. "This is the metaphorical key: its four functions are to summon, return, locate, and sound the horn."

Melia reluctantly took the remote; it was thin, sturdy, and felt easily loseable. _Of course, the best way to not lose something is to never use it, and I cannot see any reason for me to ever do so. If it is indeed a cutting-edge craft, it's a bit of a shame that it will simply end up collecting dust._

"The Emperor could not find time in his schedule to attend this unveiling," Lorithia noted, "but he has given his approval on the final product, and chose to christen it as the _Illustrious Alighting_."

 _Some "personal craft" this is if I don't even get to name it myself._ "A fine name." _Literally. "Fine". No better._

Lorithia gestured towards the exterior doors of the room, which Melia hadn't noticed were open. "Now, I shan't be forcing you to hold back your excitement any longer, Your Highness. The skies are yours."

Melia remained motionless. _She expects me to be jumping at the chance to fly this thing, when I clearly have no interest in doing so. It would ruin my anonymity and draw unnecessary attention, not to mention probably make me look foolish, as someone who has never piloted before. How do I get out of this without being exceptionally rude?  
_

An explosion rocked the room. Everyone quickly turned to find out what the source was: one of the younger interns had tripped over an exposed cable on the floor, causing her to knock over a bucket of liquified fire ether crystals, which instantly combusted.

"Perhaps another time." Melia quickly backed up a few steps before turning to dash out of the room. No one paid any attention to her; they were trying to minimize the damage and see if anyone had been injured.

Reaching the door, she looked back to see that Kallian was following her out, with what almost looked like a satisfied smirk on his face.

"...Brother, what-"

Kallian held up a hand. "In a moment. I will explain in a...less public space."

Bewildered, Melia followed as Kallian led her back through the palace into an unoccupied advisor's room. The two of them sat down on equal terms.

Without waiting for any input, Kallian dove headfirst into the explanation. "Three years ago, Father decided that you should have a personal vehicle. He expressed a desire for you to have greater independence and freedom across Alcamoth and even the Bionis in general, noting that you performed admirably in the rescue of Colony 7, which would have been an even greater success with a more capable vessel. I knew you had no interest in such a thing, and informed him so, elaborating that it seemed like far too big a leap in privilege and responsibility, and that no further missions of a sort could be expected. He promised to consider my opinion but ultimately stuck to his original decision."

 _That...is indeed the kind of thought process Father would have, given it fits the pattern of the past few years._ "But what of today?"

"Ah, yes. When I was informed that Lorithia expected you to be eager to pilot, something that is rather evidently untrue, I knew something would have to be done. So, yesterday I obtained a bucket of fire ether and placed it in a specific location. It was not at all difficult for me to...distract one of the female interns enough to cause an attention-seeking accident."

"You...you _flirted_ with her?!"

Melia couldn't stop the unfounded rash thought from escaping and instantly regretted it; it was clear from the look on her face that she was scrambling to explain herself.

Kallian interrupted by shrugging noncommittally. "Sometimes, the best solution to a problem requires a skill that is otherwise useless."

 _Otherwise useless?! What do you think you're supposed to be doing with your life?_ She managed to supress the line of thought and re-rail the subject. "So what happens now with the vehicle? I will be expected to use it eventually, if only to validate its existence."

"I see two ways we can proceed. The first is obviously simple: you learn how to pilot. The second is roundabout but should be sufficient: select someone to be a chauffeur. I believe either Hogard or Garan has piloting experience, if not both."

"The second option seems vastly more efficient."

"Indeed. In fact, I have already arranged a meeting with them to discuss this. They should be arriving in about...two minutes."

This was not the first time Melia had encountered Kallian executing a complex plan that would only function if everything turned out in a very specific fashion: placing a bucket in just the right place to combust without injuring anyone, knowing an intern of the correct age and gender would be passing by at just the right moment, and scheduling a meeting with two busy people within minutes afterwards. She wasn't sure whether it was insulting or comforting to know that he had her reactions pinned just as well as everyone else's - it was more irritating that he kept the perfect intuition in his pocket most of the time.

* * *

There were times that Melia honestly appreciated being a princess. She couldn't imagine herself being capable of dealing with some of the problems the common folk faced - irresponsible children, finding employment, taxes, relationships. Every time she passed by someone on the street complaining about these kinds of things, she considered herself lucky that she'd never have to care about them.

Of course, there seemed like so many more days where she would have given anything to get out of being a royal. And this was one of those days.

Ted Biffens, the centrepiece of the Shooting Stars, was one goal away from breaking a thousand-year-old record for goals in a season, with one game remaining. The Stars weren't going to make the postseason and play any further into October, so this would be his one chance - and it was such a prestigious record that the team had requested the imperial family come watch the game, and make a presentation afterwards if the record was indeed broken.

Sorean appreciated the magnitude of the record and the importance of football to the community, so while he did not normally pay attention to sports, he obliged. Kallian was reasonably excited; the Stars were facing his favoured team, the league-leading Obelisks, and he'd had very little opportunity to see a game in person before. Yumea seemed appreciative of an opportunity to gossip with the high-wealth ticketholders she would certainly be seated near. But Melia saw no redeeming value whatsoever in sitting for a few hours, watching two dozen people running around an open field, half-heartedly trying to move a ball around, occasionally in the general direction of the opposition's goal, and then finally missing the net badly when they eventually decide to take a shot.

There was no way she was getting out of this one. Kallian was the driver of the narrative that this was a family event, a rare chance to take in something all together with minimal official baggage. With both parents in agreement, she had no choice but to participate and lose an entire Sunday afternoon. She felt like the titular character of the recently-published _Glenny Poller and the Alchemist's Stone_ : the unwanted, tagalong outcast of the family. And unlike said character, this is where she was supposed to be.

With the game scheduled for three o'clock, everyone met at the palace's transport hub at two, ready to proceed to the Limboseh Stadium. One of the stadium's ushers was present, who would lead them directly to their seats.

"We have six Prime seats available," the user was saying. "Will you be requiring all of them?"

"Indeed," Sorean nodded. "One for Captain Denzel, one for the Seer, and four for the remainder of us."

Alvis, who had been uncharacteristically milling about, interjected. "I apologize, but I will not be attending."

"You aren't?" Kallian was surprised. "I thought you were rather eager about this."

Alvis shook his head glumly. "I came upon the result of the match during the course of an unrelated vision. I no longer have interest in observing it."

"Foresight is a curse as much as it is a blessing," Sorean mused. "Very well."

As the usher relayed some more information to the others, Alvis gesured to Melia to come closer for a moment. Confused, she did so.

"I am aware that you are not very fond of having to go on this outing," he began quietly.

Melia nodded. _That's putting it lightly._

"In an effort to make things a little more tolerable, I can divulge some information to you."

"That would be much appreciated."

"All right." Alvis fixed his gaze on Melia's mask, creating a much more stern look than she expected. "The crucial moment will occur when two minutes and fifty seconds remain on the game clock." The unusually serious look vanished as fast as it came. "Have a good day."

"...er, you too." Melia cautiously slipped back into the group, her short absence unnoticed. _That was strange. Well, at least I know nothing important will happen until the very end. If I set myself up properly, I should be able to appear attentive without having to actually be so._

The group left shortly afterwards, taking the transporter directly into the atrium of the stadium. The public gave them a wide berth as they were directed to their seats, on the centrefield line about halfway up. It was clear the entire section was restricted to VPs; Melia recognized several celebrities and rich people nearby.

After a combined hour of waiting and pregame festivities, the match finally began. Melia got bored of watching it pretty much immediately; it looked just like every other football match she'd ever seen.

 _Time for a nap I suppose._ Settling lower in her seat, she closed her eyes and tried going to sleep. Given the overall noise level in the stadium, she would have been surprised at how quickly she succeeded, if it was possible to perceive it.

_Melia found herself sitting in the middle of what looked to be the field in the centre of the stadium, completely dark and empty, in the middle of the night with stars visible overhead. It was an unusual contrast to being stuffed with thousands of lunatics.  
_

_Turning her attention to the ground, she saw that the field was littered with hundreds of footballs. She felt a strong urge to start collecting them together, booting them all into a big pile by the sideline. As she did so, she noticed that the field was actually circular, instead of properly rectangular._

_With all the balls piled together, Melia felt compelled to take a running leap into the pile and send everything flying. After standing around for a few minutes debating it, she went ahead and blew it up. The balls all flew around in circles before coming to a rest in a pile at the center of the field. Entertained, she jumped into the pile again, and remained in the middle as the balls soared back down and covered her up._

_After resting for a short time, she got ready to have a third go, but the world had changed: the stadium was gone, and she was now in what seemed to be an endless world of nothing but footballs, pressing against her from all sides. It was amusing at first, but it quickly became disconcerting, as she lost which way was up and the balls started to change colour at random. They also started to shrink, until eventually she was now immersed in a thick goopy substance.  
_

_A few minutes of flailing about later, she managed to find a surface and poked her head out into daylight, revealing an unbounded sea of what looked and felt like molten fudge, though it tasted more like treacle._

Melia gradually woke up. Glancing up at the scoreboard, the score was 2-3 with three and a half minutes left. _Excellent timing, there's less than a minute before the...um, "crucial moment" occurs._ Not really moving a muscle, she looked down at the field. _The ball is in the correct end for the record to be broken, which presumably has not happened already._

Still unmoving, she watched the clock tick down. _I suppose I must have looked thoroughly displeased during the post-goal cheering and half-time festivities. Fine with me, I do not care. What are the odds anyone would have noticed, anyway?  
_

 _Wait, what's that in the upper deck?_ A tiny speck of red light from directly across the stadium caught her attention. _That looked like some sort of laser pointer. Someone must have smuggled it past security._ She squinted harder towards the distant figure. _Hang on, that's the catwalk, not an actual seating row. What is he-_

_It's a gun._

Melia made to grab her staff, only to remember that she wasn't allowed to bring it. She proceeded to duck under her seat just as a goal was scored and the game clock hit 2:50 remaining.

While the rest of the imperial family was cheering for the goal, Captain Denzel noticed her sudden movement. He quickly scanned the area, noticed the gunman, and used Signal Flare, an art that can be made to attach a long-lived glob of bright-glowing ether to a distant target. With the glob latched onto his shoulder, the gunman started running, but quickly disappeared as a mess of security guards arrived.

It took a minute for Kallian to realize something was wrong. He stopped paying attention to the extended on-field celebration and bent down to see Melia scrunched up under her seat.

"What happened?"

Denzel answered. "A gunman has been spotted on the catwalks. He has been apprehended."

"Take us to the security office after the game and presentation." Kallian turned towards his parents to tell them of the incident.

Having heard it was probably now safe to come out, Melia started trying to do so. She had managed to wedge herself under the seat very tightly and could barely move anything at all. By the time she had unstuck herself, the game had just finished.

She didn't pay much attention to the post-match proceedings, where the imperial family walked onto the field and presented Ted Biffens with a trophy stand to set the game ball on top of in his trophy case. She was mostly trying to come to terms with the fact that this looked like a third assassination attempt on her, and one that would have been a guaranteed success if Alvis hadn't warned her before the match.

Afterwards, the family met with Inspector Rast, the most senior police officer who happened to be attending. Together, they followed the chief of stadium security to the security office.

The security office was quite drab, but that wasn't important at all compared to the person sitting in the guest chair. He was clad in a black business suit, looked to be about 270 years old, and was flanked by two buff stadium security guards.

"Of all the places..." Rast seemed both disgusted and victorious. "Well, it looks like the chase is finally over, eh Bubba?"

The man in the chair chuckled and shook his head. "It weren't the way I saw it goin' down, but you can't win 'em all, can ya?"

"Excuse me, but what is this about?" demanded Sorean.

"Your Majesty, this is Keld Bubsys, also known as Black-Hat Bubba. Notorious hitman. I've been on the hunt for him for the last 135 years."

"Why is he here?"

"That's what we're about to find out." Rast plopped himself down in the chief of security's chair, much to the chief's displeasure, and leaned across the desk in glee. "So, Bubba, why don't you start by-"

"Don't you worry, you'll get the whole story," Bubba interrupted. "I got nuthin' to hide anymore. Just let me have my piece, no cuttin' me off or nuthin', and I'll go quietly."

Rast was upset about having terms dictated to him, but with the emperor in the room he didn't want to act too rashly. "Fine. Let's hear it."

Bubba nodded slowly and took a deep breath.

"Well, here goes. I'm gettin' too old for this line o' work. It's gettin' harder and harder to put the hit on and get away from the fuzz with these old bones. So I decided a few years ago to hang it up soon-like, lookin' to finish it up with a big pick. The typical riffraff suspected I was on my way out, so they stopped givin' me the big contracts. So imagine my surprise when I walked up to my inbox and found an anonymous contract for the biggest pile o' dosh I ever been offered by a hundred times. Now, them anonymous contracts can be dangerous, and I didn't much trust this one with its supposed massive payout, but I took the risk and went on down to the meetup point. And boy did they ever deliver. Gave me 10% up front, and even that weren't chump change. But even better, they supplied me with this beaut."

He nodded towards the ether rifle sitting on the desk. It had a curious design: it appeared to be composed solely of dark grey tubing, coiled in strange formations.

"They say she's a prototype, the only one of her kind. Only good for one shot, but it passes right through all matter in its path - well, until it hits grey matter. The perfect assassin's weapon. No armour can stop it and no wounds to inspect, just a clean kill like the strings are cut. Well, clean until the head starts leaking, I suppose...But anyway. Then they go and give me the target: Melia Antiqua. Hoo boy, I still have trouble believin' it. I live for the thrill of the hunt, and to put a hit on royalty would be my greatest work. I wasn't given a deadline or a method, but that suited me just fine. The plan came together right quick actually. Slipped into the stadium last night, hid out until the match began, and waited for the perfect moment where everyone would be focused on the field. My only regret is assumin' she was enough conked out to not see the targetting laser; she put on a fine show about foolin' me."

There was a moment of silence. Sorean looked deeply disgusted. Kallian seemed to be resisting the urge to dispense some justice right here and now. Yumea had a straight face. Melia was not yet sure what to make of the story.

"Hey, it's nothin' personal," Bubba shrugged. "It's a job. I get paid to kill people; don't care who, where, or when. It's a nice challenge, it's a nice way to travel, and there's no worries 'bout the work bein' there: long as there's two people left on these titans, or hey even just the titans themselves, _someone_ is gonna want _someone_ dead."

"Well, I think we're done here." Rast stood up. "You're coming with me down to the station, Bubba."

"Good luck with that. I'm still waaay ahead o' ya, Rastamatazzle." Bubba let out a satisfied chuckle. "Remember how I said this was my last job, win or lose? Well, once I took the shot and saw that my quarry had pulled it over on me, I took a poison pill. I'm dead in five minutes."

Rast plopped back down into the chair, upset he had been outsmarted yet again.

"I see no reason to linger any longer." Sorean turned towards the exit. "Kallian, find out who authorized the research into this illegal weapon class, and destroy it immediately."

"With pleasure." Kallian grabbed the rifle and broke it over his knee, releasing a cloud of black gas that quickly dissipated.

Melia didn't turn to leave with the others. A burning question had settled itself in her mind, one that she wasn't sure if she wanted the answer to, but would never have another chance to find out.

Bubba stared eerily at her. "You got somethin' on your mind, princess? I don't normally talk to those on the other end o' the barrel, but...hey, if you got a question, why not give it a shot?"

"Do not listen to this scum," Kallian said, one foot out the door.

"No, I must know." Melia took a deep breath. "How much?"

"Aaaah. Yes, how much indeed." Bubba slowly nodded, his face getting droopy. "How much is one's life worth? How much is someone willing to pay to snuff it? Well, I guess this might make it easier for the fuzz to find the buyer, but heck if I know meself who it is, and I'm done with this world anyway..."

There was a pause while he seemed to think it over for a brief moment.

"Fifteen _million_ G." He laughed and shook his head. "I _still_ can't believe it. Who even _has_ that kind o' money to be throwin' around? No idea what I'd do with it meself. Have a luxurious retirement I guess..."

* * *

After returning to the palace and having dinner, Melia just sat in her room and tried to comprehend just what was going on with her life - and why someone was willing to put so much money towards ending it.

She had always known her mere existence was actively offensive to closed-minded people; as early as she could form memories, she could remember jerks calling her and her mother rude names at public events, and history was filled with half-blooded heirs that met early and suspicious ends. But this was now three assassination attempts in five years, on top of however many might have been caught and swept under the rug before they reached her. And they couldn't be all masterminded by the same person: the first was a lunatic civilian, the second was a mole in the palace, and the third was a professional killer.

It didn't make any sense to her. Why have all the most-successful attempts come so recently? She could only think of one possibility: after hearing of the first attempt almost succeeding, those who were already considering it decided to make their move sooner rather than later. But that didn't explain why she was being targetted at all - after all, everyone in Alcamoth knew she was never going to get a sniff of the throne, and therefore had about as much real-world power as a tree.

Still, she had to admit to herself she didn't feel like she was in much actual danger. The general public currently underestimated her skill with elementals, believing her to have only above-average command of two at a time, therefore making it unlikely for any civilian attackers to be sufficiently prepared for a fight with her. She had the Chozo interface, allowing her unexpected amounts of mobility across the city. And if anything truly terrible was to happen, there was a fairly good chance Alvis would see it coming and warn the correct people - though as evidenced by today's events, where he only gave her a cryptic warning instead of directly informing security about the killer, he seemed to do so in very minimal and risky ways.

In terms of ways to protect herself, all she really had option-wise was to keep an earth elemental by her side at all times, and later a matching ice one, once it was learned. But that would broadcast fear and paranoia, and wouldn't have helped at all against the two more recent attempts, so it wasn't a good idea. She could always be anonymous outside the palace more, but all the attempts had occurred at times where that wasn't an option, so it was even less likely to do any good.

Eventually, her train of thought concluded with determining that nothing could nor should be done. The public had no conclusive evidence that any assassinations had been attempted, only rumours, and taking any action to fix perceived weaknesses would only invite more killers that were previously unsure of themselves. Besides, her life wasn't all that important anyway - if the bad guys wanted to waste time with her instead of going after the ones who actually matter, then so be it.


	15. Mirrored

**_COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION_ **

_26 March Sorean 10  
_

_Evaluator: Keldon, James_

_PERSONAL INFORMATION_

_Name: Antiqua, Melia  
_

_Gender: F_

_Race: High Entia father, Homs mother_

_D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 78)_

_Height: 156cm_

_Weight: 47.6kg_

_Specialization: Ether staff_

_STATISTICS_

_Note: Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale._

_Physical Strength: **32** While still below average in terms of magnitude, this category is seeing a relatively average amount of improvement.  
_

_Ether Attunation: **93** It is now effectively a given for Melia to achieve a score of 100 here before the age of 80, which is simply unheard of on the modern scale.  
_

_Agility: **22** There is nothing of interest to note here.  
_

_Resilience: **441** While her resilience is still projected to remain well below average, Melia is firmly no longer in the "unnaturally frail" category, and should be able to take a few hits from opponents in her combat level range._ _  
_

_Overall Combat Level: **~3.8** Statistical progress continues to accelerate.  
_

_ARTS_

_Elemental Discharge: **A+** Burst aura now activates in either 14 or 13 discharges, which seems to be dependent on frequency of discharges. This behaviour has little historical precedent, and needs further research.  
_

_Summon Bolt: **A+** Summoning time is a constant 1 second.  
_

_Summon Flare: **A** Summoning time varies between 1 and 2 seconds_ _.  
_

_Summon Aqua: **A** Summoning time varies between 2 and 3 seconds._

_Summon Wind: **A-** Summoning time varies between 6 and 7 seconds._

_Summon Earth: **D+** Summoning time varies between 1.5 minutes and 2 minutes, which is quite the range, but still very ahead of the curve, and behaves as perfectly as her other elementals upon completion._

_Burst End: **B-** The defensive drop of this art now measures approximately 7% and leaves about 4 discharges worth of burst aura left over.  
_

_Hypnotise: **B+** Casting time varies between 4 to 7 seconds, and is always successful.  
_

_Shadow Stitch: **B+** Casting time ranges between 2 and 5 seconds and ensnares targets for a total of 15 seconds.  
_

_Healing Gift: **B+** Casting time is a constant 7 seconds, with a perfectly consistent amount of vitality extraction.  
_

_Spear Break: **F** No further comment.  
_

_Overall Arts Grade: **B** Melia continues to be a model student of elementals with strong affinity for other ether arts. Her single weakness however is obvious and glaring, with no solution in sight.  
_

_MOCK BATTLE ANALYSIS_

_Melia has now experienced six mock battles, and shows improvement in strategy, execution, and confidence in each one. However, while she understands the strengths and weaknesses of her teammates and correctly accounts for them, she appears to still think in terms of individuals doing individual things, not grasping the full extent or potential of teamwork. Until this happens, she will remain unfit to learn the nature of chain attacks.  
_

* * *

It was a clear morning in May. With the instructor of her Monday morning classes sick, Melia wandered through the library, aimlessly looking for something to read. Normally she would have a clear goal in mind, but the unexpectedness of the opportunity resulted in uncertainty.

_I've read a lot of technical, technological stuff recently. I feel like finding something more...something...more "natural". If only I knew what that meant.  
_

Looking up at the shelves, Melia realized that she had wandered into a part of the library she had never really ventured into before: the section on High Entia biology, a topic she was never really that interested in due to how often she had been figuratively beaten over the head by it across the years.

 _Something from here would certainly be new and different._ She scanned the shelves. Nothing really stood out at first - textbooks on neurology, journals on specific diseases, the history and uses of DNA sequencing before it was outlawed. She was about to shrug and move on before she noticed something peculiar.

 _...There's a disproportional amount of books on sexual reproduction here._ She scratched her head in confusion. For a subject she had only been taught for less than two weeks out of her whole life - much of which was fear-mongering more than informational - the library section on it was unusually large. She had always suspected it was a topic that had been skirted around a bit, given that preparing her to produce heirs was a total waste of time with Kallian's existence, but didn't think the disparity could be this major.

 _Let's see what's hiding in here._ Melia selected one of the larger books from the shelf and sat down at the nearby table.

"Ah, there you are, Melia." Kallian seemed to have materialized from nowhere. "Come, we need your help."

Melia dropped the book on the table and stood up from the chair as if they were white-hot. _You have simultaneously the best and the worst timing in the world._

Kallian lead her to one of the smaller advisor's rooms. Hogard was already present, along with Gurt Huaj, a high-ranking mechanical engineer.

"Greetings, Your Highnesses." Huaj was pouring over a complex blueprint laid out on the table.

"Greetings, Huaj." Kallian sat down and motioned Melia to do the same. "Melia, I will get straight to the point. We would like you to go to Sword Valley and collect a Quality Shaft."

Melia expected a few different things that this could be about, but travelling to the Mechonis was most certainly not on the list. She responded with the second thing that came to mind, keeping the first for later. "And how am I expected to accomplish that?"

"It's quite simple: Trade with the Mechon."

"...what?"

Kallian knew the nature of her confusion and cut it off. "The Mechon are not naturally the ruthless killing machines they are characterised as. We only see them as such because in the rare cases when we do meet them, they are here on the Bionis, actively attacking Homs settlements. When in their homeland, they are much more docile, actively ignoring anything they do not perceive as a threat. We have successfully traded with them in the past - as long as they are treated carefully, they are no more a threat than any other wild creature."

Melia had trouble believing the explanation, but decided to accept it at face value for now. "How would one trade with a mindless automaton?"

Huaj answered. "The procedure is simple. You take several ether crystals to be used as payment. Once you identify what you're looking for, you ensure that a Mechon is present, replace the target item with the crystals, and very slowly depart. Once the Mechon realizes you are making an exchange, it will evaluate the crystals, and you should remain still. If it deems the payment sufficient, it will begin collecting the crystals, at which point you may simply leave."

"And what if the payment is not sufficient?"

"Well...truth be told, we don't know. We have always paid much more than we expect the item to be worth, in case the Mechon decides you are attempting theft."

 _That's not exactly reassuring._ "Why would we pay in valuable crystals? Is gold not a currency to them?"

"We don't think it is, no. Experiments have been conducted that reveal the average Mechon will completely ignore gold, whereas it will go out of its way to collect ether crystals."

Out of questions about the nature of the job, Melia moved on to the one that had originally first come to mind. "Why am I being selected to carry this out?"

Huaj started fidgiting a bit. "We have not attempted to trade with the Mechon for quite some time, and the person we would normally entrust to do so has since died. With our method set, we didn't think we would need to train a replacement, and could simply send anyone trustworthy."

"Yes, but why _me_?"

Kallian responded. "You are short and thin with small wings and smooth features, and the Mechon do not recognize ether staffs as a weapon. You are the perfect example of someone who they will see as a non-threat, who can still defend themselves if something does go wrong."

It made sense; there was nothing about the logic she could refute. _This is going to be like the Colony 7 rescue mission, isn't it? Me as the only person in the city that can undertake some task? Or is this more like the Bunnit event, and this is some hidden test of skill somehow?_

"This is what the typical Quality Shaft looks like." Kallian placed a photograph in front of Melia, which depicted a reinforced metal pole about a metre long. "It may be of a few different colours, which for our purposes does not matter."

"Here are the crystals." Huaj produced a bag full of a dozen high-quality ether crystals of varying elements. "We estimate this to be about 1.7 times the worth of a Quality Shaft."

Resigned to her fate, Melia emotionlessly placed the photo into the bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Let's get you going," Kallian prodded. "I think this is the perfect time to take the Illustrious Alighting for its maiden voyage, don't you think?"

 _There's the ulterior motive._ "It is a sensible proposition."

"I'm glad you agree. Hogard will take you to Sword Valley. Good luck."

* * *

From ground level, Sword Valley was honestly not all that impressive. Sure, it was a little weird for the landscape to be composed of metal instead of rock, but to someone used to artificial environments, it didn't feel all that strange. To be honest, it was far more strange to arrive with such speed - the Illustrious Alighting's engineers certainly pulled no punches when it came to performance. If she succeeded quickly, she could be back before lunch.

Hogard deployed the landing gear and sat the vehicle down on the ground, not very far at all from the bridge to the Bionis's thumb. "This is as far into the valley as I am allowed to pilot into. I will await your return here. Good luck, Lady Melia."

Melia wordlessly and carefully stepped down off the craft. Walking on the metal ground was quite a bit more surreal than simply observing it. She could see several Mechon in the distance, probably about a ten minute walk away.

She started moving towards the Mechonis at slightly slower than normal walking speed, trying to look simultaneously determined and non-threatening. She knew that Hogard would quickly swoop in if any trouble started, no matter what he was told to do, and put himself in danger to let her escape. It was probably the worst thing that could happen, honestly - Melia's ether arts could do passable damage to Mechon, whereas Hogard's physical attacks would have little if any effect, and the Illustrious Alighting had no combat tools to her knowledge.

Approaching the Mechon, Melia couldn't help slowing down even further. It was very unnerving to watch the black-armoured constructs wander around with no apparent purpose, especially as they continued to take no notice of her. There were times in her life where she'd wished for invisibility, but this was not at all how she'd imagined it.

Five minutes after passing the first Mechon, she spotted a large pile of what looked to be scrap material off to the side of the valley. _This should be as good a place as any to start looking._

She approached the pile before realizing that there was a very curious setup surrounding it. A bipedal Mechon was stationed in front of the pile. Two other Mechon were currently rummaging around in the pile, apparently looking for something in particular. A third Mechon approached holding a part and showed it to the one in front, before adding it to the pile and walking away again. The two searching Mechon finally found what they were looking for, showed four identical-looking parts to the one in front, and walked off.

 _This...this looks oddly like a trading post._ Melia could see a Quality Shaft sticking out the back end of the scrap heap. _If that is the case, then this should be easier than expected, as this overseeing Mechon should be prepared for various kinds of exchange of goods. If I act correctly, I may even be able to provide more accurate payment, instead of simply giving them all the crystals I have brought.  
_

Trying to move casually, she walked around the pile and slowly extracted the Quality Shaft from it, before coming back to the front. The overseeing Mechon eerily stared at her the entire time.

Melia placed the shaft on the ground and started removing crystals from her bag one by one, laying them out in front of the overseeing Mechon, which fixed its gaze on each one as she put them down. Once she had laid out seven of the crystals - the value she calculated to be close to the part's believed value, given that she had twelve crystals that were estimated at 1.7 times its value - she remained crouched and waiting.

The overseeing Mechon continued to inspect the crytsals, turning its head jerkily as its attention jumped from one to another in no apparent pattern. After about a minute, it looked back at Melia and remained unmoving.

 _...Is that not sufficient?_ Melia carefully dipped back into her bag and put down three more crystals, leaving just two. The Mechon looked over the new offerings but still seemed unsatisfied.

 _This had better be enough._ She pulled out the last two crystals and added them to the lineup. _Perhaps our previous overpayments have primed them to underestimate the true worth of our crystals._

The Mechon looked over the two new crystals for over a minute before glancing back over the rest of the set. After a full three minutes of further deliberation, it finally did something different: it looked into the sky, towards one of the airborne Mechon passing overhead, which turned off its previous course and swooped down to ground level. After five seconds of what looked like empty staring, the flying machine picked up as many crystals as it could carry and flew off elsewhere.

Melia let out a sigh of relief. _I will take that as success._ She took the Quality Shaft, stood up, and backed away as two more flying Mechon descended and collected the remainder of the crystals. _They must be capable of communicating in some way that we cannot perceive. They are almost like insects, acting as specialized parts of a whole instead of individuals. They would actually be quite interesting to study if they were not bent on destroying every sentient on the Bionis.  
_

She turned back to where she came from and started walking away at normal speed. _It's quite curious how they completely ignore me until I attempt a trade, and then immediately begin ignoring me again, as if acknowledging me is a waste of time. They must be designed for efficiency over anything else - if it could be said that someone designed them, which I suppose could be the Mechonis itself, in the same vein that the spirit of the Bionis gave birth to our species._

Lost in thought, she reached her ship unexpectedly quickly, and almost ran into it before realizing it was there.

Hogard nodded her way. "Your success is swift, Lady Melia."

"Indeed. There was no trouble to be had." Melia hopped on board and plopped herself down in the seat at the back, clutching the Quality Shaft tightly.

"Very good. Let us away." Hogard lifted the craft off the ground and slid the speed multiplier up to maximum, blasting off towards Alcamoth at unparalleled speed. In what seemed like no time at all, they were pulling into an imperial hangar, with Sorean, Kallian, and a dozen eager material engineers waiting to greet them.

 _Er, is this one part really that big a deal?_ Melia gave the shaft a more thorough look-over. It didn't look any kind of special: just a black metal axle with riveted, reinforced sections at either end. It looked decidedly ordinary.

Sorean was the first to speak. "Well done, Melia. You braved an intimidating landscape and toed the line with our enemy in order to retrieve a crucial element of our exotic materials research."

Melia tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't help showing a bit of confusion. _That seems overblown. What's one rod going to do for research? And there was no difficulty involved, just some careful posturing really._ Stepping down from the ship, she carefully handed the shaft to one of the engineers, who was taken somewhat by surprise and hastily shuffled off somewhere with the rest of the nerd mob following.

"I know it seems a bit overdone," Kallian said, "but materials from the Mechonis are highly valuable for many different reasons, and it is folly to give the Mechon too many crystals to help their attacks against the Bionis. It is almost like throwing a steak into a starved crowd."

The methaphor awakenked Melia's hunger; it was pretty much lunchtime after all.

* * *

It was a chilly Saturday in late February. Melia was sauntering aimlessly around the Filicoh District, a lesser-density commercial area. She'd put up a large amount of resistance against monthly excursions recently, but was getting nowhere towards being allowed to go back to sitting in the palace indefinitely. She still had no idea what more she was supposed to learn at this point.

Wandering around with no real goal in mind, something caught her eye that wasn't there the last time she was: a lavender roadside sign reading "Annual MAC Meeting Today, Room 4, 2pm: All Welcome".

 _What is MAC? I am intrigued._ She'd never heard the abbreviation before, and was interested in learning more. She was a bit worried about its potential length, as she didn't even know what would happen if she didn't arrive back to the palace in time for dinner, but it seemed rather unlikely for that to happen.

The sign sat in front of a small convention centre. Melia stepped inside and turned towards room 4. It was one of the larger rooms, filled with several round tables that could seat six or so each, for a total seating space of sixty or seventy. About forty people were already present and seated, and one of the tables was full of various snacks.

Taking a seat at an empty table near the exit, she quickly recognized something odd about the crowd: there was a very high proportion of half-bloods, with over half of the attendees having small wings, plus a few full-winged people with rounded ears. Aside from that, there was no real demographic pattern.

_This might be some sort of support group for half-bloods. But it doesn't make sense for such to advertise itself as "all welcome", nor to meet only annually._

A middle-aged red-robed small-winged woman arrived and took a seat at the closest table to Melia's. "Hello there. Are you new to us?"

"...Yes." _Uh-oh, I didn't want this to be a commitment, I just wanted to attend a single meeting out of casual interest.  
_

"Good, good. What's your name?"

"Mel."

The woman nodded approvingly. "Perfect. I'd say it suits you. Enjoy the meeting."

Melia didn't know what to make of the comment, but nodded politely.

People continued to file in. Once the hour struck, there looked to be 55 present. Someone stood up from what looked to be the lead table, judging by how it was littered with the most stuff that its occupants had brought.

"Welcome, fellow members and interested guests, to the 16th annual meeting of the Melia Appreciaion Club!"

There was applause. Melia clapped lightly; she hadn't yet quite parsed what exactly the club's name implied.

"This year's theme is speculation. We're going to have some fun taking wild guesses about the princess's life. Maybe serious if you feel like it, but mostly humerous and light-hearted." Several people nodded; the theme was probably distributed in advance.

The realization slowly started to come together in Melia's mind: she had just anonymously walked into her own fanclub, and it would be incredibly rude to just leave. She could already feel her face reddening, and started worrying like mad while the head table continued to speak.

_I can't believe such an organization truly exists. Does Brother know about this? How many people would notice if I simply went to the washroom and never returned? Is this whole setup an elaborate joke at my expense? How can I possibly remain anonymous in a crowd of people obsessed with me?_

She was torn from her internal rambling by a sheet of paper and pencil being placed in front of her. Looking up, she saw that writing instruments were being distributed to everyone else.

"You've got ten minutes to draw what you think Princess Melia looks like," said the leader. "We'll vote on the results and give out some coupons to the three most realistic and most outlandish. Have fun!"

Everyone quickly got to work. Melia stared down at her paper. _Well I can't just sit here and do nothing; I've got to at least make an effort, to avoid standing out. But to do that, I have to do something neither realistic nor "outlandish", something that fits in between the two extremes._

_So. If I didn't know what I looked like, what would I think it could be?_

She started to sketch. She didn't consider herself all that good at drawing, even though it was the go-to activity that she was pushed towards as a toddler whenever she was being a nuisance, and as a result had a large amount of self-taught experience with it. She hated drawing herself more than anything, but managed to convince herself that she was instead drawing some kind of long-lost sister: a longer and thinner face, narrower eyes, ears at a midway point between rounded and pointed (an uncommon but not surprising feature), and short hair tied in a bun.

With about a minute left, she looked over the finished product. It kind of looked like what she felt her masked voice sounded like: more sour and stricter, and perhaps a healthy thirty years older. _This is a club of fanatics, they should not take well to a dreary interpretation. Just what I need to avoid winning anything._

Once the time was up, the entries were collected to the head table, before being displayed to the room one at a time and voted on by a show of hands. Melia added her vote to the ones that amused her more than anything - mostly the ones with unusual hairstyles, such as a massive beehive swirl, or twin locks that wrapped around the neck and down the arms. She was relieved yet somewhat surprised to find that no one was all that close to being correct - the top three "realistic" entries were all thin-faced, and the winner had extremely curly feathers.

_I suppose it's nice to know that my identity is clouded enough that a room full of admirers are oblivious to my true appearance._

"Now," the leader announced, "it's time to hear some of your weirdest, wildest, and most outrageous theories on just what Princess Melia does in her day-to-day life. We'll start at this end of the room and work our way down, and once we've heard from everyone, maybe we'll discuss some of the better ones. Just keep it clean and give us a laugh!"

 _This is going to be either amusing or deplorable. Perhaps both._ Melia was prepared for the kinds of things she'd read of in the sensationalist tabloids, the conspiracy theories and negative press. Luckily, she was wrong.

"Melia is scared to death of butterflies."

"Our taxes are so high because she spends all day eating candy."

"Melia is so desperate to learn how to cook, but they won't let her, so she sneaks into the kitchen during the night and burns things."

"She's super hyper all the time. Whenever we see her outside the palace, she's heavily sedated."

"Melia sneaks outside at night and just rolls around in the grass."

"She can't stop herself from throwing food, it's just so fun to her."

Almost every single anecdote was accompanied by hearty laughter. Melia couldn't stop herself from joining in; the disconnect between the guesses and reality was so total and hilarious that it was impossible to not laugh. She could feel the onset of a giggle fit.

"She wastes all the money guzzling fine wines."

"Melia sits in her room all day playing Call to Duty."

"The first time she tried to use elementals, she set the palace on fire."

"Melia has the loudest burps in the family, and she can't control them."

"She can fly, but her wings sound like a buzzsaw doing it."

It just seemed to get funnier and funnier. A few other people seemed to have lost control of their chuckling, so Melia didn't feel so bad about being unable to stop.

"Melia actually secretly has the leg strength to kick you across the room."

"She rides around the palace on a Nopon servant."

"Melia can't see a thing without her glasses."

"She hides her face because her eyes are different colours."

"Her wings are actually full size, they're just rolled up tight."

Seated the furthest away from the head table, Melia was the last to have her turn, having had a bit of time to compose herself and think of some zany factoid. She decided that this was a perfect opportunity to throw everyone off the scent - to propose something simultaneously crazy yet realistic that would get lodged in peoples' minds and make it even harder for anyone to recognize her in public.

"She has golden hair."

The crowd still laughed, but there was also a notable amount of oohs and aahs at the suggestion that the princess was a chromothrixiac - one who never had their hair change from gold to silver between the ages of eight and ten, one of the rarest half-blood traits. It would be the perfect explanation for why she kept her whole head under wraps at all times.

 _I'd say that was pretty successful._ Melia watched as pretty much every table delved into speculation over her baseless guess. _I have no doubt this rumour will spread from here and infect the entire gossiping populace, which will further obscure my true identity._

After a few more minutes of discussion, the leader stepped up again. "This is all incredibly interesting, but we do have to get on to the third event."

The chatter died down as the leader produced more papers, which were passed around.

"This meeting's third and final event will be a repeat of one of our most popular segments from a few years ago."

A murmur of anticipation rose up; some people seemed to already know what this meant.

_If it was popular enough to be repeated in a later year, it must be highly entertaining._

"Okay, everyone. You've got ten minutes to describe Princess Melia's perfect husband. Don't hold back, now!"

Everyone excitedly got straight to work.

Melia was left in a mild shock; it took her about ten seconds to realize her mouth was open, and closed it quickly. She didn't understand at all how pretty much everyone could be so fascinated by the subject of her love life - especially the part where no one seemed to be aware that she didn't have one, had no interest in having one, and would probably be overruled by her father if she were to ever try having one.

After a minute of absolutely nothing, she again realized that she had to put at least something down; she couldn't be the only one to have a blank page by the end. But she had absolutely no idea where to start - she figured she could be honest and no one would be any the wiser, but to tell the truth she'd first have to figure out herself what it was. "Top qualites of a husband" was something she had literally never considered before.

A total of four minutes after the start of the challenge, she decided to just stop thinking and start scribbling a list of good personality traits, and see if anything useful appears.

_\- Intelligent_  
_\- Average size (not tall)_  
\- Prefers solace alone (no big circles of twenty friends)  
\- Has learned many life lessons (as opposed to having a sheltered life)  
\- Knows when to remain quiet/admit defeat  


Melia looked over her spur-of-the-moment list, somewhat surprised at herself for pumping it out. _I must say, if I could magically create a friend, this would indeed be a blueprint for success. Whether that would turn to romance, we shall never know. This is a throwaway spur-of-the-moment exercise after all._

Once the time expired, the results were collected to the front and read aloud by the leader. The majority of them were trite and cheesy traditional white knight characters with some random personality quirk to make them superficially unique, with a minority of celebrities and intellectuals. Melia was not much impressed, but she knew from the start there was unlikely to be anything of the sort. Her own submission was comparatively short and simple, and was subsequently glossed over, to her satisfaction.

With everything accounted for, the leader made one last announcement. "Alright, well, that concludes this year's meeting. If anyone has anything for the care package or wants to sign up for the quarterly newsletter, step to the front now. Otherwise, I hope to see you all on the last Saturday of February next year!"

There was a smattering of applause. Some people got up to leave immediately, while others approached the front table.

Melia sat still for a moment, processing the last announcement. _There's a newsletter every three months? How could they possibly have enough to talk about for that frequent a publication?_ She had half a mind to subscribe just to see what it could contain, but of course her address was the palace, so there was no way it could be done without giving herself away. Come to think of it, she didn't even know if it was possible for her to receive mail.

With the crowd starting to thin, she started moving slightly towards the front, to catch a glimpse of what the supposed "care package" was. Apparently, it was a medium-sized cardboard box that was loaded with all the papers people had written and drawn during the meeting, and several people were adding their own letters and small boxes to it. "Melia Antiqua, Imperial Palace" was inked on the side.

A mix of competing thoughts started to swell up in Melia's mind; she shook her head firmly to try and hold them at bay. _I'm getting out of here. Only then will I start to consider what this means._ She left the building as fast as possible without looking suspicious and immediately headed back for the palace.

Having managed to return to her chambers without interruption, she started pacing restlessly.

_This fanclub intends to mail me a package, and evidence suggests this is not the first time. I have never gotten mail before, nor the slightest hint that someone has attempted it. Therefore, something is obstructing the delivery that neither side knows about. The most obvious candidate is that some other member of the family is intercepting it, with the second likely possibility being that it is not addressed properly and being held in a post office somewhere._

_I want to receive this mail; it may provide a clue as to the mindset of these strangers who are borderline worshipping me. Therefore, I need to take a guess as to what the issue is, and intercept the interception._

* * *

The clock chimed eleven, signalling Melia to find a nearby balcony and peer down towards the palace's main entrance, waiting for the mailman to arrive. Her plan was simple: get down to the palace's mailroom before anyone there could do anything to the day's deliveries. As a Sunday, there was likely going to be less mail than most days, meaning her timing would have to be quite precise.

She still wasn't really sure what to make of the Melia Appreciation Club. As a child, it did not take long for her to assume that everyone disliked her by default, simply for being child of the Second Consort, and aside from temporary positive reputation boosts, she saw no reason to ever change this mindset. It was pretty much the first time she had found evidence of people in the general public that seemed to hold a positive opinion of her, without needing the impetus of a recent event. As a result, learning that there existed a group of people who effectively revered her was difficult to believe, and subsequently lead to a mix of unidentifiable emotions. She hoped that finally getting one of their "care package"s would help her understand their mindset.

Looking down towards the courtyard, she saw a uniformed man arrive with a package in his hands.

 _That's got to be it._ She started scrambling down the palace's interiors towards the mailroom, a place she'd only ever been once or twice out of curiosity, while trying to not make it appear as if she had somewhere to be.

The mailroom wasn't all that large; it only needed enough capacity to house about three dozen letters a day, plus the occasional package. Melia saw that the imperial postmaster, a younger man she didn't recognize, already had her package in his hands and seemed to have already decided what to do with it.

 _This man must be the missing link._ "Hello there, postmaster."

The man had a minor freakout, half-juggling the package. "E-e-excuse me L-Lady Melia, I-I didn't realize you were here."

"That is alright." A short pause. "I see you have a package addressed to me."

"W-w-well, no...well, yes, yes I do. But it's illegitimate."

Melia put on a careful arched eyebrow. She normally didn't have much confidence in her people skills, but the postmaster seemed to be vulnerable. "Is that so? What evidence do you have?"

"...Wwwwelllll...um..." He put the package on the counter behind him and propped himself up against it, clearly a bit mentally overwhelmed. "I-If you'll give me a moment, Y-Your Highness, I-I'll explain."

"By all means."

The postmaster took a few deep breaths before continuing. "This is only my fifth month here. My predecessor told me that, every year at about this time, a fradulent and dangerous package addressed to you arrives from an unknown source. He said he was under orders to dispose of it immediately, every time it appears, and told me to continue to do so after his retirement."

"Really? Fascinating. So what _does_ it contain, then?"

"Um...well, I don't know, to be honest. I was told to get rid of it immediately, I haven't bothered to discover whatever's inside. I mean, if it's dangerous, it would probably-"

Melia took hold of the bottom of her staff and extended it, reaching across the room to jab the package with one of the head's sharper bits, snapping the tape. She then pulled back to open the flap, revealing the papers and boxes within.

"I'm not an _expert_ , but this looks rather legitimate to me."

"...er...um..." The postmaster nervously checked below the surface layer of the box's contents to find nothing of a dangerous nature. "...well, I suppose you are right."

"It appears so." Melia stepped forward to take hold of the box. "I hope we've learned a lesson about blind acceptance of claims here today. Thank you for your time."

"Y-y-yes, Your Highness." The postmaster withered back behind the counter.

Melia started walking back to her room. _So the current postmaster is gullible enough that the blame does not reside with him. Given his story, which I have no reason to doubt, I strongly suspect his predecessor was under orders from someone to dispose of the package, and therefore he is also not the primary source of the issue. The question is, who gave that order? It may not matter at this point, if I have successfully convinced the new postmaster to do otherwise, but I hate leaving such a plot unresolved._

She sat down on her bed and popped the box open. _Let's see what kind of stuff my admirers think I like, and what someone doesn't want me to have._ The first thing to be extracted was a message from the club's leader.

_Hello, Princess Melia! Here are the spoils from the Melia Appreciation Club's sixteenth meeting. We had a theme of "speculation" this year, so people had a lot of fun making up what they thought you look like, and what kind of person you're looking for in romance - please don't be offended, it's all in good fun! Also included is the typical assortment of gifts some of our more generous members have donated. Have a good year!_

Melia couldn't stop herself from feeling upset at the realization that the previous fifteen of these packages had been destroyed to no one's knowledge - probably thrown into an incinerator, with no chance of retrieval. But as she started looking through the rest of the box, her mood lifted significantly. She had already seen all of the drawings at the meeting, so she skipped them for now. There was a total of twelve letters from various people, mostly talking about their lives in the past year. They were all boring, layman's stuff, like fretting over whether a crush had reciprocal feelings, or lamenting over a dead pet, or trying to figure out how to stop a sibling from being bullied. Yet Melia found herself fascinated by them: slices of normal people's lives that they wanted to share with her, with no expectation of reply. It was as if they wanted to give her a glimpe of what friendship was like.

The five small boxes were even more intriguing than the letters: each one filled with homemade sweets. The concept of having candy hidden in her bedroom made her downright giddy; she had to exercise a lot of self-control to not simply eat them all right then and there, which would certainly spoil lunch.

Having absorbed everything in the package, Melia was left feeling a mix of emotions. She remained confused that people would be so entranced by her, considering that she didn't know what she did to deserve it, but also felt something alien that she could only guess was some form of pride - that even with her lack of accomplishments in life, she had devoted fans. Fans that continued their support despite a total lack of acknowledgement from her.

_I'm not really any closer to comprehending their motivations. But these people deserve some sort of response._

She started bouncing ideas around in her mind. It would be a year before the club's next meeting, but that was okay - she might need that long to ensure the plan's success.

* * *

It was the last Wednesday of June. Halfway through Melia's previous training session, Reddel had determined that it had been long enough since she had begun work on the earth elemental that she needed to try something else, even though it was not quite on the same level as her other elementals yet. Therefore, Melia entered the training room ready to do something new.

"Before we begin today, I would like to ask you a question."

 _Er, this is unusual._ "By all means."

Reddel gave off the impression that he was reluctant to bring up the subject, but had no choice. "Would you be interested in dropping Spear Break for a topple art?"

The immediate thought that entered Melia's mind was "yes", but she knew this was a terrible knee-jerk reaction to a question for which serious thinking was needed.

"I ask because I believe you may have more success with a topple art. History has shown many times that not even the mightiest heroes can have full comprehension of both staggering a foe and exploiting it afterwards. Perhaps you are someone who has the topple mindset as opposed to the break mindset, in which case switching to Down Kick or Ankle Cut would be most beneficial. Do you agree?"

Melia stood and considered the question for a few minutes, iterating over both memories and thoughts.

"I originally selected Spear Break because it did not need to immediately follow another art to be effective. Were I to learn a topple art, in order to use it at the right time, I would have to rush into melee range from my ideal position at a distance. Both then and now, it seems like a dangerous and risky proposition."

"But surely no riskier than being close enough to use Spear Break to start with?"

"If I am at such close range, I am already in an unfavourable position, and would prefer an art that I can immediately use to push enemies away rather than have to wait for an ally's successful attack."

"If that is your decision, very well. But keep the option in your mind."

Though she believed she made the right decision, Melia still felt a lump of uncertainty. _It's no fun to struggle with Spear Break, but at this point wouldn't learning some new physical art be just as bad, even if I somehow magically display some hidden mindset for it in the future?_

"So, let us move on to today's new art."

_Yes, that would be much better than dwelling on physical arts.  
_

"This art is called Reflection." Reddel demonstrated by twirling his staff around, forming a ring of what looked like hexagonal mirrors around himself. "It uses light ether to redirect an opponent's attacks back upon them." The barrier vanished as fast as it came. "However, it cannot be sustained for very long, and thus timing is critical."

Melia instantly saw much potential in the new art, the obvious one being to bait enemies into attacking her and eating the damage themselves, with another being to protect herself from wide-area attacks and help out those who did get hit.

"Like Shadow Stitch, you will be learning Reflection in two parts. The first half involves the creation and control of a single reflective panel, which behaves much like an elemental but differs in several key ways. The second half is the production of enough simultaneous panels to protect yourself from all sides."

Reddel spun his staff again, creating a single reflective panel, which sat in front of him for several seconds before fading away. "The mindset for this art is primarily defensive. You must have intent to erect a glassy barrier in front of yourself, shining with more lustre than any manmade substance."

Melia took her staff and started spinning it around, imagining that she was spinning some sort of glistening spiderweb. After about two minutes, she could sense an unusual warmth on her staff's handle - not the scorching heat of summoning a flare, but the kind of heat that one feels laying in the sunshine on a cool day. Focusing harder, she could see her staff beginning to trace out the outline of a large hexagon in the air, creating a slowly-widening border of silver. However, as it started to thicken inside, it started to vanish outside. By the time she had filled the entire shape, it was about the same size as one of Reddel's panels. Fully formed, it continued to shrink until it disappeared.

"Not bad," Reddel mused. "It is typical for the first-timer to attempt a panel the size of their staff, as it is the most natural way of doing things, but it is terribly inefficient, as you can see from it fading away at the same rate you were building it up. Your main goal at this point is to get a feel for how to start at the correct size. Once there, you can concentrate on accelerating the creation process."

Melia nodded and started from the beginning again. _It seems strange that, after many years of knowing an art of dark ether, I am only now learning one of light ether. I'm sure there is a reason for it, but I can't imagine what it could be._


	16. Reflected

_Perfect. No one will be there to see me arrive._ Melia scrolled back across the map on the Chozo interface before donning her masked headdress and clambering into the vent.

She was headed towards the same convention centre she had visited a year ago: the one that was hosting the annual Melia Appreciation Club meeting. Knowing that they would be meeting again on the last Saturday in February, she was planning to surprise them with her appearance.

It was a plan that had been fermenting in her mind for pretty much the entire year. She had spent so much of her life alone, with little if any support from the general public, that she felt compelled to reward the few who did indeed seem to care about her. There was no shortage of risk - she wasn't supposed to be outside the palace without a guard present if she wasn't on an anonymous excursion - but she was feeling pretty good about her odds of convincing Kallian that she was doing the right thing, which would almost certainly sway her father's opinion on the matter if they were to find out.

Of course, travelling through the ductwork was more of a hassle with her mask on, making her tunnel vision even more pronounced. There was no chance of it being damaged, at least - she'd abused it pretty hard as a frustrated child and it never came out with a scratch.

As usual, it took no time at all to arrive at her destination: the women's washroom at the convention centre. Peeking out through the vent to confirm that no one was present, she dropped down from the ceiling and smacked the dust off herself.

 _I don't think I'm ready to show even these few people my face._ She looked at herself in the mirror, seeing nothing but her displeased mask stare back. _All it takes is one loose mouth and my anonymity is done for. It's far too useful a power to give away. Besides, I faintly recall some sort of decree stating that it's not even allowed. Perhaps I should look it up sometime.  
_

_Well, here goes nothing I suppose._

Still a bit apprehensive but determined, Melia strode out of the washroom and into room 4, where the meeting was about to begin.

She blinked a few times, unsure of what she was seeing.

Apparently, this year's theme was "dress-up contest". About half of the people present were wearing the same style of clothes she was seen wearing on a regular basis, with prop masks and ether staffs to complete the costume. Most of the accessories looked a bit hastily done, but a few were of quite high quality, and could easily be mistaken for the real thing at a distance.

 _...well then. This has taken an unusual turn._ Melia carefully sat down, ensuring it was not in the same seat as the previous year. _This is eerie, seeing all these doppelgangers about. But it should provide for a much more amusing reveal.  
_

She watched the last few stragglers arrive; there seemed to be slightly more people than the previous year, at about sixty-five. Most of the costumed attendees weren't currently wearing their masks, but a few were, so she didn't stand out very much.

"Welcome, fellow members and interested guests, to the 17th annual meeting of the Melia Appreciaion Club!"

Melia joined in the applause, trying to blend in as much as possible.

"As you can probably tell, this year's theme is impression. The main event is a dress-up contest, but we've got a few other things in store, so if you didn't bring a costume don't worry. Right, first things first, everyone in costume please take a number so we can tell you apart. And everyone else come get a name tag, because you'll need them for the first event."

The tags were handed out. At the far end of the room, Melia was given number 36, and was therefore the highest-numbered participant. _Maybe I should have placed myself more in the middle somewhere._

"The first event is a party game called Assassins in the Palace." The leader began shuffling a deck of cards. "Everyone gets a card. If you get the Ace of Flames, you are the emperor. If you get any other Ace, you're one of the assassins. Everyone else is a guard. Once everyone has their role, I secretly tell all the guards who the emperor is, while I tell the assassins who their co-conspirators are. From there, you'll all start trying to find out who the assassins are in order to execute them and remove them from the game. If all the assassins are executed, the emperor and guards win. But each assassin can reveal themselves at any time, including just before their death, and select another player to kill. If they kill the emperor, all the assassins win. So the assassins need to figure out who the emperor is while looking like a guard, while the emperor and guards need to find the assassins without revealing who the emperor is - or who the emperor cannot be."

The cards were dealt. Melia looked at hers: the Five of Winds, making her just another guard. _Good, the role of no commitment. I can sit back and observe unless I am questioned, and being eliminated is no great loss to either team._ Eventually, the leader reached her and told her that Rubeus was the emperor, a middle-aged man sitting about halfway across the room.

Once everyone was correctly informed, the game began. It was clear that some people had played the game before, as they were quick to cast suspicion on random players in order to get discussion started. Players naturally formed groups from each table to reduce conversational interference. Trying to remain in the background, Melia did little to participate, simply nodding in agreement with specific notions of the emerging debate.

After an initial five minutes of deliberation, the first player was voted out and revealed as a guard. From there, a chain reaction began where several players were eliminated in quick succession under the assumption that two players who disagree must be on opposite teams. By the time things had died down a bit, only thirty players remained.

From there, the first assassin made their move. He picked Melia out of the crowd and declared that she was the emperor, under the logic that she wasn't doing anything, nor being called out for not doing anything. Melia simply shrugged and revealed her card, denoting her opponent's failure to choose correctly.

_I have succeeded in diverting the kill away from the person of importance. How appropriate._

With one assassin gone, the remaining players got in a groove, analysing motives and reactions to fish out the remaining baddies with minimal loss of teammates. Once the final assassin was outed, twenty guards remained, with the emperor safe among them. After all the cards were recollected, the leader allowed a few minutes of discussion before taking control again.

"Our second event should be pretty exciting. Everyone come outside, it'll take place in the backyard."

The leader directed the meeting out the rear door and into the back yard of the building, which was about twice the size of the room inside. An umbrella stand in the centre of the yard contained five Popular Staffs.

"Pretty simple really: We'll each be having a try at summoning elementals!"

The crowd oohed and aahed. Melia was intrigued. _People tend to greatly overestimate how difficult it is to summon the simpler elementals, so there should be a large amount of unexpected and therefore satisfying success here._

"Isn't that dangerous?" someone asked. "Can't elementals really hurt someone?"

"Rest assured we have taken every precaution." The leader pointed to a wire on the ground and a bucket of water. "Any electric elementals can be safely discharged into this ground wire, and any fire elementals can be eliminated by submerging them. My research shows it's extremely rare for a beginner to be able to summon anything else, but those are the ones that aren't as dangerous anyway."

"But don't elementals fly around a lot?" a second concerned member said.

"Only if you want them to," a third person stated. "If you don't do anything, they'll just sit in the staff."

"Anyone who doesn't feel safe can head back inside," the leader declared. "Otherwise, let's have the first five people line up."

No one returned indoors. The leader passed out the five staffs to the closest participants.

"Whenever you're ready, make your best effort to summon something. We don't have all day, so I'll have to set a time limit of one minute."

The fun began. The first five participants scrunched up their faces, trying their hardest to envision the desired element, with a few words of encouragement from the crowd. The air grew quite staticky. After thirty-five seconds, the first bolt appeared in someone's staff, and in the next ten seconds the other four had also all succeeded. Everyone cheered.

The process repeated for each group of five. The average summoning time was about forty seconds, with about one flare for every seven bolts, and every now and then someone simply failed to attain success within a minute.

Melia ended up being part of the second-last group. It had been so long since she had taken hold of a staff that wasn't her own that she'd forgotten how heavy they could be; she almost ended up dropping the one she was given. When the time began, she simply did nothing until she could sense the people next to her were close, followed by summoning a flare in no time. She had to catch herself to avoid subconsciously moving it out of the staff's head.

With everyone having had their turn, the meeting moved back inside for the third and final event.

"It's time for the costume contest!" the leader announced. "Everyone gets three poker chips. To vote for someone, place one of your chips in the box of the same number. Once everyone's done voting we'll count 'em up and get our winner!"

The participants started donning their masks and headdresses. Melia began considering how exactly she should conduct herself; she wanted to let the contest run its course without her interrupting. _Ideally, people treat me as just another participant. I have heard stories of famous actors losing these sorts of lookalike contests because of the public's skewed perception of them, so I cannot be surprised if I follow suit. Once the results are in, that is probably the best time for me to reveal myself._

The contest began. People started to wander around and interact with the participants, trying to determine who to cast their votes for. The non-participants acted as if they were meeting the real thing in jest, such as asking the taller participants "Why do you look so short on TV?". Having the correct size and shape, Melia was asked the slightly more serious questions, which she gave less-than-straight answers for.

"Do you have a middle name?" "Not as far as I'm aware." _A simple "no" might have been sufficient I suppose._

"Have you named your staff?" "I have never seen the need to." _Though it's an interesting idea...a little bit cheesy, however._

"Are you really that short?" "Am I supposed to be shorter?" _Really now, is this my main attribute or something?_

"Do you really have gold hair?" "Why would it matter?" _The rumour I invented last year still has weight, it seems._

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how awesome is Kallian?" "That cannot be measured by a number." _Take that how you will._

"Do you have to wear that mask while in the palace?" "Gratefully, no." _That would be deplorable._

"Who's the lucky guy?" _Are you serious?_ " _Obviously_ not you."

In between questions, Melia conducted her own assessment of the other participants from a distance. Near the end of the time limit, she added her votes to those she thought had her movements and mannerisms pinned most accurately, with costume accuracy a secondary factor. She then started planning her reveal.

With all the votes cast, the leader opened the boxes to find that there were five main contenders, and spent time counting only them as everyone else mingled.

"Okay everybody, sit down. It's time to announce the winners!"

He paused to wait for everyone to comply.

"Honourable mentions go to Melias number 18 and 29, at fourth and fifth respectively."

Everyone clapped politely.

"In third place, for an artbook of the hovering reefs, Melia number 15!"

Number 15 was one of the adolescents, slightly taller than the real Melia and with a headdress that was clearly labouriously hand-painted. She jumped up in glee and skipped up to the front to collect her prize.

"In second place, for a book on the history of the imperial line, Melia number 36!"

 _I guess that's me._ Melia walked up to take the book, which she already had her own copy of. _I'll have to ensure the prizes get shuffled down to fourth place, so my presence doesn't mean people get cheated out of rewards._

"And in first place, for a one-of-a-kind painting of the imperial palace, our winner, Melia number 8!"

Number 8 was an older woman, probably 150 or so, that had clearly put a lot of effort into hand-sewing the complex patterns onto her dress. She got the loudest applause as she took her prize.

_Now is the time._

"Well that's pretty _interesting_. Really now."

Everyone threw Melia sour looks at her unexpected outburst.

"Hey, don't be a spoilsport there," the leader said. "If you-"

Now standing up, Melia raised her staff into the air as an earth elemental appeared in its head, followed quickly by an aqua. She twirled the two elementals around the handle like a screw before bringing them in line above her shoulders.

It took the crowd several seconds to parse what was going on. Once they finally did, everyone started to emit squeals of glee or gasps of admiration, and began to form a mob that was undecided exactly how close they could approach their idol without getting in any trouble.

From there, things turned into a bit of a blur. The crowd was somehow coerced into a handshake line, as Melia walked around the room and accepted stammered greetings from everyone. It took quite a while to work through the entire group; by the time she had reached everyone, the meeting was running five minutes over time.

The leader managed to get everyone to calm down enough to speak. "Princess, may I ask what prompted you to grace us with your presence?"

Melia wasn't really comfortable with revealing the true reason, but had a backup reason prepared. "The amount of goodwill displayed by this organization simply could not continue to operate without my acknowledgement."

"But...but how did you get here alone?" The question by one of the club's younger members gathered several nods from others that at least suspected she was acting outside the royal rules.

"I don't think it would do to reveal my secrets."

"No, of course not." The leader looked at the time. "We're running late, but if you could stay for just a moment longer-"

Melia guessed what he was about to ask and cut it off. "It would inconvenience me to take your package at this time. I can wait until tomorrow to accept it."

"V-very well. Thank you, Princess."

"You are quite welcome." She turned to leave as applause broke out.

Once out of sight, Melia quickly dashed into the washroom and up through the vents, returning to her room as fast as possible. Back in the safety of home, she replaced her headdress on the shelf and flopped onto the bed.

She hadn't realized how stressful the whole ordeal was until now; she could feel her heart trying to slow down after willingly putting herself in a high-risk low-reward situation. Trying to fit in with the costumed citizens, trying to act not as herself but as the perception of herself, and then revealing her presence to her most devoted fanatics - it seemed even crazier an idea now. Even without the unexpected dress-up contest segment, it wasn't something she looked forward to doing again.

_But it was the right thing to do, in the end. I can't imagine the feeling of putting in so much work for someone only for them to continue to be oblivious._

* * *

Melia woke with a start to find that her head had rolled off her pillows and left the bed, taking the rest of her body with it. She was momentarily confused as to what could have caused it, until she remembered what her recent dream had entailed: being thrown into the sea with her head locked in an iron box, definitely one of the more frightening nightmares of the past little while.

Collecting herself together, she looked up at her dreamcatcher, spinning lazily in the warm June night as if nothing had happened.

_It is clear that my dreamcatcher is in need of another upgrade. Yet it already houses a rank VI focal gem, which is supposed to function well though its owner's natural lifetime. Perhaps it simply does not function correctly on half-bloods past a certain age. After all, it is usually not until age 80 that its owner requires a rank VI gem to maintain pace, yet I reached that point fifteen years ago._

_Maybe...could a rank VII gem do the trick? That would be so difficult to get ahold of though. Every rank VII gem in the city has its whereabouts under constant supervision, and there is no chance whatsoever that Father would allow one to be used for this comparative pittance of a task._

_There must be a rank VII earth gem in existence that is not currently being used and would not be missed if it vanishes. Something with a less-important attribute, or that has mostly been forgotten about. Or both.  
_

_Tomorrow is Saturday. I'm going to see if I can have a look at the gem manifest, to try and find one labelled as lost or missing. If so, I can go on an excursion to try and find it myself, and hope that something else hasn't found it first._

* * *

The gem manifest revealed the best-case scenario: just the previous day, a rank VII Muscle Up gem was lost during a fierce training exercise on Hovering Reef 3. It was strongly suspected to have fallen into the sea and be lost forever, but there was a small chance that it remained aground, potentially claimed by one of the creatures wandering about. A team was being assembled to search for it in the afternoon. As a result, Melia started to make haste so she could arrive there first.

It was the first time she had gone outside of Alcamoth anonymously, taking the transporters across the hovering reefs to reach her destination. She was somewhat surprised that there wasn't some sort of "don't let Melia outside the city" system in place, although she supposed the transporters could simply be tracking her movements instead.

Once arriving at Hovering Reef 3, she glanced around to find a good place to start looking. She hadn't really considered how much area she might need to cover to find the lost gem; it took her about an hour to reach the reef, and didn't want to come across the official search crew later, meaning she probably had no more than two hours to search.

 _Well, I might as well start here._ Melia started walking concentric circles around the transporter, scanning the grass for the gem. She figured it would be pretty easy to spot; rank VII gems were quite sparkly, and the burnt orange colour of earth gems would contrast decently well with the green grass.

She was quite wrong. In no time at all an hour was gone, and she had only covered about a third of the reef. She was starting to go cross-eyed from staring at the ground for so long.

 _This isn't going well._ She sat on a rock and closed her eyes, trying to reset her mind. _Perhaps I am not going about this the right way. Shouldn't I be able to simply feel the presence of such a powerful earth gem? Maybe I need to be doing a less directed, more widespread search. Sweep with a broom, not a toothbrush.  
_

Getting up, Melia began moving towards an as-of-yet unexplored area of the reef, trying to look with her mind more than her eyes. After ten minutes of wandering around with her eyes half-closed, she could sense a strong nexus of earthly ether.

 _Aha, that has to be it, there aren't any crystal deposits around-_ She looked up to find a Bono Nebula, hovering in a circle in front of her. _...Why is a wind nebula giving off...does it have the gem?_

Melia tried to peer into the floating cloud of wind ether. It was difficult to see if anything was inside it; it was moving too fast, and the gas in the centre was the thickest. She wanted to get its attention but knew this was foolish, not knowing how strong it could be in battle.

 _I need a way to distract it somehow, without it targetting me._ She tried to think of ideas. She could simply swipe her staff through the creature, knocking out the gem if it was present, but that would certainly attract its attention without dealing any damage to speak of. She could try distracting it with a wind elemental and slowly remove the gem herself, knowing that it could not feel very slow movements, but it was very risky indeed to get that close to a nebula and its instinct to self-destruct.

A second Bono Nebula became visible not too far away, also lazily sauntering around in the sky.

_Perhaps I can provoke this second nebula into fighting the first. If the first has the gem, the second may very well wish to steal it once it realizes it's there.  
_

Melia positioned herself between the two gaseous beings and sent a wind elemental into the air. The first nebula seemed content to ignore it, but the second swooped in quickly. Melia swung her elemental towards the first, dragging the second along until they almost collided. At this point, she dispelled the elemental and stepped away.

The two nebulae hung still in the air for a moment before they began unloading ether energy into each other, creating a spectacular display of green light. Melia backed off even further as the fight started to cover more space, the combatants getting more and more energetic. After three or four minutes, they both detonated simultaneously, raining green whisps of ether down across the reef.

 _There it is!_ Melia saw a flash of light drop straight down from one of the two nebulae. She dashed foward to see an earth gem lying in the grass. _Hah, a flawlessly executed-_

A green mist was beginning to surround the gem. The ether whisps that remained from the fight were beginning to condense, forming at least four distinct clusters.

 _...er, perhaps not flawless._ It had escaped from her mind that getting two nebulae of the same element to explode near each other was how the species reproduced, and now she was probably about to have four of them trying to fight over the gem. _Time to get out of here._

Melia quickly snatched the gem off the ground and started running towards the transporter. The newly-born nebulae would take a minute or two to become aware of their surroundings, but she wasn't taking any chances. She wound up reaching the transporter without any trouble, and from there she slowed to walking pace as she returned to Alcamoth and finally her room - taking her time to avoid anyone who she suspected had the same gem-detecting sense that she did.

 _All things considered, that was probably the easy part._ Melia looked up at the canopy of her bed, far out of her reach, where her dreamcatcher was hanging. _Now I have to somehow replace the current gem with this one, without enlisting anyone's help, nor leaving any evidence that a switch has been made._

The first solution that presented itself was to simply throw the new gem, knocking the old one out of its weightless perch in the centre of the web and remaining there itself. But she had no confidence in her ability to throw objects accurately, and couldn't have anything damaged in the slightest. She could stack her two suitcases on the bed and clamber up, but it looked to still be out of reach even without considering that the mattress would deform under the weight.

_And trying to climb up there is beyond foolish, there's nothing to grab ahold of that can support my weight. If there was some way to control objects at a distance, then...hang on. I can summon a water or wind elemental and move it around easily. Could I stick the gem into the elemental and use it to carry the gem up there? If so, that would actually be a very useful thing to learn, manipulation of small objects via elementals._

Deciding that she didn't want to get anything wet, she summoned a wind and carefully moved it down close to her desk, where the gem was resting. She had to move it pretty close to the gem, but eventually the vortex picked it up. Trying to move it was difficult, as going too fast caused it to slip away and clatter back down.

 _Wait, I should remove the old gem first._ She tossed a second wind upwards and sent it through the dreamcatcher web, blowing the existing focal gem out of the centre and down onto the covers.

From there, it was simple trial and error. It was a satisfying challenge, to move the elemental slowly but surely, trying to catch the gem when it tumbled away to not lose too much ground, with the difficulty rising as things moved further and further up. After about twenty minutes, she finally nudged the gem into its perch and dispelled the elemental.

 _That should do it._ She waited for the dreamcatcher to stop swaying. She felt quite the sense of accomplishment for something so minor - though in the end it was a lot more than a minor effort, leaving Alcamoth in secret for the first time, and learning to do something new with elementals. In fact, she was newly determined to hone the latter skill, so she could move things around with wind elementals as easily as with her hands. She wondered whether it was something that anyone else bothered to do; it would certainly be useful should both her hands be occupied.

 _Now what am I going to do with this rank VI gem?_ Melia picked up the old gem and gave it a go-over. It was a Poison Plus gem if she recalled correctly; it didn't shine nearly as brightly as the new rank VII one. _It's a bit too good for me to just get rid of, but I can't be seen with it, or people will wonder where I got it from. For now I'll just hide it._ She stuffed it into her sock drawer alongside the Chozo interface, the only place where she was confident that no one ever snooped during cleaning and maintenance. _My body and mind are fully grown now, and rank VII is the highest gem rank that exists. I expect to have no more nightmares ever again._

* * *

The first Wednesday of the new year was several degrees below normal, resulting in a messy slush falling from the sky instead of rain. Melia spent her free time just watching the odd weather splat against her window before going to her training.

Reflection was progressing well. Melia could produce a single protective panel of the correct size almost instantly, and had quickly mastered the part that was normally the trickiest: the ability to control its existence but not its movements with her mind, allowing it to independently swing around her to defend from all sides without being dependent on her reaction time or limited field of vision. Reddel determined it was time to move on.

"A single panel of Reflection is enough to deflect minor blows from weak or uncommitted attackers, but in order to defend against anything stronger, you will need a unified structure of several simultaneous panels. There is no trick to this - you simply put your mind to producing multiple panels at once."

Melia nodded. "How many panels do you recommend?"

"Well, naturally you would start with two and add one at a time once you become comfortable. As for the maximum number, it is different for each practioner, which does end up affecting the art's ultimate power. Some can only support as few as three, while others can generate as many as ten. Given your general history, I expect you will easily reach the higher parts of the range."

Wasting no time, Melia started spinning her staff. She produced the first panel instantly and a second one a few seconds after that, and from there began a pattern of making a new one every time the older of the two vanished. After a few minutes of the continuous cycle, she tried adding a third into the mix but faltered, breaking the pattern and dropping back down to one at a time.

 _Start from the beginning again._ She waited a bit for everything to reset and tried again, keeping up two panels with little effort but not able to produce a third before the first expired. _It's all about speed. The faster I can create the first and second one, the faster every one after that can come, and the more I can fit in within the time limit._

Melia spent the next ten minutes producing a constant stream of reflective panels, coming very close to three at once but never quite making it in time. Taking a break, she realized she had a question.

"Mr. Reddel, why do you produce all of the panels at once when you cast this art, instead of a constant stream that can defend for a longer span of time?"

"Quite simple, really: if you're always making panels, that means you're still focusing on them, meaning they can't react to attacks. Only once you take your mind off them can they perform their job correctly."

She nodded. _That makes sense I suppose. It's like a swarm of insects, operating as a whole instead of a group of individuals to defend most effectively.  
_

She started practicing again. As with the past several months of training the art, Reddel would occasionally summon an elemental and weakly toss it in her direction, forcing her to temporarily stop so the panels could deflect it. It was an effective way of confirming that it functioned both visually and physically.

Once the session was nearly over, Reddel had a request.

"Melia, in the interest of further research on your elementals' unusual properties, could we do some further testing for a moment?"

A month previously, the pair attempted to reverse their roles as an experiment, and discovered that Reddel's Reflection was completely ineffective against Melia's elementals, shattering the panels as if they were made of hair-thin glass. Reddel was baffled at the development and said he would consult his colleagues on the phenomenon.

Melia nodded. "All right. What do you wish to test?"

"One of my partners has suggested a potential explanation for the curious results. To test it, I would need to attempt reflecting your elementals and your Burst End, and note the results."

"Very well." Melia waited for Reddel to be ready and fired a bolt just past him, which crashed through all eight of his panels without effort. She then started tossing enough elementals across the room to activate her burst aura and detonate Burst End. This time, Reddel's panels easily rebounded the wave of energy upon her, which felt unpleasant but did not actually hurt.

"I see, I see." Reddel nodded slowly, stroking his mustache. "Well, you continue to amaze both me and the entire ethermaster community." He paused for a moment to take in the conclusion he had reached. "Tell me, what do you think your talent art is?"

Having read about talent arts not long ago, Melia answered instantly. "Burst End, of course. It cannot be used on a whim and has by far the largest area of effect."

"Indeed. Burst End is the talent art of all known ether staff practioners; it is intrinsic to the physics of casting elementals and its effects vary slightly for each user. However, there can be no doubt that, somehow, you are an exception. The evidence is crystal clear that your talent art is instead your Elemental Discharge."

"...because it is unhindered by your Reflection?"

"Exactly. Reflection is quite weak against talent arts, and in fact is completely ineffective in the majority of cases. If your arts behaved normally, your elementals would bounce off just as mine do against your shield, while your Burst End would ripple through with hardly an issue. As the reverse is instead true, the only conclusion is that you have an unprecedented affinity for discharging."

"So..." Melia tried to make sense of the new development. "So is there a practical application for this information, or is it just a curiosity?"

"I would say it is _very_ practical," Reddel said. "For example, you may encounter a foe that possesses an art similar to Reflection, rendering normal arts useless. If one is not prepared to use their talent art, they must wait until the situation changes before they can do anything else. But with Elemental Discharge being your talent art, you can use it at effectively any time to break through such limitations, making it impossible to defend against your primary means of attacking. You are therefore uniquely suited to defeating enemies that can block or seal normal arts."

Melia considered the opposite side of the relevation. "Does that not mean that I am also uniquely vulnerable to abilities that are capable of blocking talent arts?"

"Hmm..." Reddel thought for a moment. "You're almost certainly right. If something possesses the ability to deflect talent arts, it would indeed be much more of a problem for you than for others. But as far as I'm aware, no creature has such an ability, and no known art has such an effect. I wouldn't completely ignore the possibility, but I think it's safe enough to discount for the time being." He nodded to himself, probably considering how he would present his findings to his colleagues. "I've kept you long enough for today. See you next week."

"...Yes." Melia left the room a bit slower than usual, deep in thought.

She was always aware that her ether affinity was exceptional. She could sort a pile of gems into element and rank groups with her eyes closed, she could sometimes sense when someone was sick hours before any symptoms presented themselves, and every ether art she learned was met with praise on how much of a natural she was at it. Yet of all the unusual things that surrounded her, it was quite disconcerting to learn that she had a different talent art than every other ethermaster in history. It didn't seem like the sort of thing that should be possible, like she was breaking some sort of law of the universe.

* * *

It had been an unusually warm November, with the summer plants and animals taking their time to go into hiding. Melia was walking through the Lumian District, letting her legs and her mind wander at random.

_If light ether and dark ether can be manipulated for arts such as Reflection and Shadow Stich, why can elementals not be formed of them? Are they too unstable, too weak, too dangerous, or simply unattempted seriously? I would think that if it were any but the last of those, I would have seen information about it somewhere in my readings, but it's equally difficult to believe that no one has ever tried. Perhaps in a few decades, after learning and mastering all my slated arts, I can attempt it.  
_

_What would such elementals do? I'm not sure what kind of beneficial effect that a dark elemental could have on the user or allies, nor what kind of damaging properties a light elemental could inflict on enemies. Perhaps this is why they are unused - their functions are comparatively limited and so not worth the effort. Actually, maybe a dark elemental would emit an aura that is detrimental to enemies, perhaps in abilities or morale, instead of a friendly boost.  
_

_What type of ether is Burst End, anyway? It's a golden yellow in colour, which would imply electric, but electric elementals are purple. And I recall reading that the colour of Burst End varies between users based on its effects: yellow for debuffs to foes, cyan for buffs to allies, and magenta for direct damage. I wonder if it's possible to change which one-_

Melia's thoughts were interrupted by noticing that two people walking towards her had suddenly taken several panicked steps back, pointing at something behind her.

Acting on instinct, she quickly bent down and extended her staff while keeping it latched to her belt. There was a loud "clank" as a knife hit the head of the staff, covering where the back of her head just was, and clattered onto the ground.

Melia stood up and turned around to see someone familiar in the street: Hillary Glenbrook, the madwoman who had carried out the first assassination attempt on her eight years ago. She was quite thinner and paler, but there was no mistaking her.

_Well now. Look who's escaped prison and gone straight to trying to complete their original objective, disregarding common sense._

" _YOU._ " It was the same contemptuous snarl that kept creeping back into Melia's dreams every now and then.

Melia was surprised to realize she wasn't all that scared - in fact, she felt like she had the definite upper hand, with her opponent unlikely to be in top physical or mental condition. With little fear of any fight that was about to ensue, she felt compelled to reflect her enemy's taunting from their last meeting back upon her.

"I believe you dropped this knife here. Would you like it back?"

" _You're dead._ "

"Really? I would have thought that would stop me from walking around."

Roaring in blind rage, Hillary dashed in with her second knife in hand. With several more years of experience compared to their last encounter, Melia had no trouble extrapolating her vector of attack and calmly stepped aside. _Anger and frustration beget predictability._ She easily read and avoided the next slash. _It should be simple to keep her enraged enough to render her a non-threat._

"This is an _interesting_ dance. Where did you learn it?"

"Not a chance!"

"I suppose failure is an _acquired_ taste."

"If you're just here for a reminder, yes my blood is still red."

"Nice try, I suppose?"

"I see you spent the past few years _very_ constructively."

"Weren't you supposed to be good at violence?"

"So this is just for spectacle and not actually an attempt to kill me, correct?"

It was blissfully theraputic, to have a real-life rematch with one of her personal demons and come out on top so convincingly. She didn't even need to launch an attack of her own; the enemy would tire herself out before long, and by then surely one of the bystanders would have called the police. But if she had to be honest with herself, she quite enjoyed dumping out all this pent-up vitriol that she didn't realize she had, and didn't wish to see it end any time soon.

" _Almost._ Perhaps. No, actually not that close at all, really."

"I believe there are more effective ways to encourage blood donation."

"What is your strategy, to build my confidence?"

"I can taste the rust on your breath."

"How many times have you missed now? I'm actually a bit impressed."

"Pathetic!"

"I award you a grand total of zero points for that display."

"Another miss by you. Not a big surprise."

Hillary shrieked and mindlessly tried to stab Melia in the foot, which did nothing but shatter the blade on the road. She then backed off and fished another pair of daggers out of her belt, longer than the ones she was previously using, and resumed the attack.

"Oh me oh my, whatever shall I do?" Melia was getting a bit exhausted from all the dodging and sarcasm, and decided that being more aggressive on the defensive would be a safer idea. She wielded her staff and parried the first blow, knocking one dagger out of the assailant's hands. From there, she simply used her staff to block the offensive and keep the attacker at arm's length, which was much less taxing than moving out of the way. Hearing a police siren in the distance, she continued with her own verbal assault.

"Do you _ever_ win at rock-paper-scissors?"

"If you wish to try again next week, my schedule is open."

"Outplayed."

"You won't even be front-page news at this rate."

"Remind me again how _I'm_ inferior."

"Once you decide to hurt me please let me know."

"You're a disgrace to your profession."

"If _I_ was given a chance to redeem myself, I would put some _effort_ into it."

A police vehicle arrived, with a total of four officers disembarking.

"What's all this then?" the head of the cops spouted.

 _Typical officers, talking before acting._ Melia responded with an unnatural calm. "Oh hello sirs. Just defending myself from this unprovoked attack." She blocked a slash at just the right angle to deflect it back into her adversary's midsection, cutting a small slice into her torso.

"ERNNNNNNNNNGHF!" Hillary made to throw the bloodied knife at Melia, but she sidestepped, caught it by the handle in midair, and inspected it.

"Ooh, this smells a bit strong. It could do with a little diluting, don't you think?" _Okay, that was actually rather insensitive to pure-bloods. I'll try not to use it or similar again._

Out of knives, Hillary tried to throw a punch at Melia's head. She ducked it and kicked her opponent in the abdomen, sending her toppling across the ground. The police finally stepped in and made their arrest.

The head officer went over to Melia. "Are you okay, miss?"

"Not a scratch." She watched the escapee get loaded onto the police vehicle. _Bit of a pity, really, to fail so utterly in one's grand return._

"Good, good. Would you mind telling us what exactly this was all about?"

Melia shrugged. "Some years ago, I was near the palace and this loon attacked me. I have no idea why. The guards caught her quickly and probably threw her into their prison. She must have escaped recently, and just happened to meet me today."

"We'll ask the imperial guard about her then." The officer nodded. "Have a good day, miss."

"Thank you."

The cops left, with their quarry spewing wordless nonsense.

_She's a persistent one, she is. But I don't think I'll ever have to worry about her again. Even if we do meet again, I can only have improved, while she will continue to stagnate._

_I think this calls for a treat._ Melia targetted the nearest bakery. _To mark how far I've come in the past...eight years since her first attempt on me, sixteen years since I began training. It's kind of impressive actually; after eight years I couldn't land a blow, but another eight years and I came out completely unscathed. And with effectively zero fear to boot.  
_

_This could turn out well for us overall. If I can feign weakness and continue to defy kills aimed at me, by the time the assassins decide I'm too much trouble to target, Brother will probably be emperor already, and mission accomplished.  
_


	17. Unique

Melia sleepily walked into her room and flopped down on the bed.

It had been a most satisfying Friday. The day before was her last day of schooling, consisting of two four-hour exams comprised of essentially everything she had ever learned. While she had spent most of the late-June day worried stiff that she had done something very wrong, the results came in just as stellar as everyone else expected, and a banquet was held in honour of her "graduation". Furthermore, she was told that nothing was currently planned to fill the void left in her daily routine, that she had earned a substantial break from duties. She still had to continue with physical activities and staff training, and was still limited in how she could leave the palace, but was otherwise free to do whatever she wanted.

With some difficulty, she slowly sat up, preparing to get ready to go to bed properly. A lot of stuff had gone through her mind lately, and one thing in particular was now demanding her attention: the question of whether she mentally considered herself an adult. She had obviously been an adult legally and physiologically for some time, but still identified more as an adolescent or an outright child depending on the situation, and still felt slightly uncomfortable at being referred to as "Lady Melia". But now that school was over, and she somewhat expected to be given some actual imperial duties in the near future so she wouldn't be a waste of space, she felt almost compelled to...

_...to learn how to be an adult? Does that even make sense? What "adult" action or knowledge could I possibly be unaware of?  
_

_Well, I suppose one thing that could be done would be to move into the Imperial Villa, which would remove me from this room's childhood environment._

Melia hadn't seriously considered relocating to the villa before, what with it being far enough away that doing anything in the palace proper would be a pain, but now that she had significantly fewer daily obligations, that problem would be much lessened. She could probably have the place redone a bit to cover up the more obvious historical ties if the memories ended up bothering her, and she had a very strong feeling that there would be fewer privacy intrusions by guards or maintenance workers (though they of course could not be eliminated completely).

_It's worth investigating, at any rate. Tomorrow. I cannot simply pay the building a visit unannounced; I shall have to ask Father about it first, likely at dinner._

* * *

Having spent most of Saturday considering her sentiments, Melia spotted a gap in the dinner conversation and made her move.

"Father?"

Sorean was about to get back into his roast Hiln, but the question was so rare it captured his attention immediately. "Yes, Melia?"

"I am considering relocation to the Imperial Villa."

"Indeed?" He seemed surprised with a hint of excitement. "That is encouraging to hear. Tell me, what has prompted this new development?"

 _No I was going to ask you the questions, ergh._ "...I suppose the tipping point was the completion of my education."

A nod. "Of course, a most important event." He didn't pursue the issue any further.

 _Hello? I wasn't done._ "My main concern is what would happen to my current chambers, should it happen that I later wish to return."

"You need not worry about it. We have no need to repurpose your current chambers, and keeping them in pristine condition is of trivial effort. It would be just as the villa currently is: maintained less often than locales that are actively used, but still available for occupation at any time."

Melia had suspected that the villa was kept in decent shape even while empty, which answered another one of her questions, but she still had one left. "So once I have made my decision, how much notice will I need to give, and who should I inform?"

Smiling, Sorean shook his head. "Melia, the villa is yours to do with as you please. You may take up residence in it at any time, or return to the palace whenever you wish, with no reasons, restrictions, or regulations."

"...Very well." She was unnerved by the openness of the situation. She expected it to be an open-and-shut case, a decision that she could make once and only once that could never be undone. To be honest, she didn't feel as interested in the villa knowing that it didn't have to be a permanent change.

Kallian could sense something was not quite settled. "You expected an irreversible decision, didn't you?"

"...I did." There was no reason to hide it.

"But how would that be beneficial?" Kallian almost scooped his sleeve into his food but stopped it just in time. "Sometimes you may wish to reside in the heart of the palace, at other times you may desire a more peripheral life. There is no reason to spite one for the other."

"But..." Melia realized something that she hadn't thought of before. "But if the situation remains fluid, how will you determine whether you must construct another villa to house your future second consort?"

The rest of the table froze. Kallian clearly had no idea what to say. Sorean was expressionless but almost certainly thinking hard to create a response. Yumea looked flat-out scandalized at the implication that her son would ever have a Homs consort.

Melia didn't think the question would have caused such a dead response. She sheepishly reached for her wine and took a long, slow sip; over the past several years she had successfully built up enough resistance to drink two full glasses with no ill effects.

After what felt like quite a while, Sorean broke the silence. "Do not concern yourself with matters of the future. We shall cross that bridge when it comes time, not before."

"I understand." She didn't really, but could tell that the topic was done being discussed. _It looks like I may as well give the villa a visit tomorrow, if there are truly no restrictions governing my use of it._

* * *

It felt very weird to be traversing the skybridge that connected the villa to the palace, something that she hadn't done since she was first moved into the palace - at first because it wasn't allowed, and then simply because it never occured to her. It was a very foreign feeling, unnervingly similar to the feeling of hollowness that the Tomb radiated. She figured this was because the day she left the villa was the same day she visited the Tomb for the only time.

Passing the two guards at the dome's entrance without a word, Melia glanced at the gardens as she aimed towards the villa proper. The imperial groundscrew had kept them in shape, but were clearly devoted to not changing a thing without permission. The reds and pinks were around the perimeter of the circular shapes, the yellows and whites traced spokes out from the centre, the oranges sat in the corners, and blues and purples filled in the rest. Not a thing had changed in forty years.

It wasn't like she hadn't thought about it since then, but she hadn't truly realized that it had now been four decades since her mother's death, meaning that it would only be two years until she'd have more life without parents than with them (her aunt, father, and stepmother never being much of "parents" as far as she considered). It wasn't a pleasant realization.

She shook her head. _I'm not here to relive the past. I'm here to evaluate the present._ She stepped onto the transporter inside the base of the building and passed through it.

She appeared in the foyer on the first floor. It looked like no time had passed at all. The free-standing fireplace in the centre quickly flared to life, detecting a visitor. The mirrors on the doors of the coat closet were unmarked and pristine. The crimson carpets remained thick and fluffy. Not a speck of dust sat on any of the gold decor.

Melia ascended the wide staircase that wound around the outside of the circular building. The second floor, the sitting room, was in just as perfect condition as the first one: sky-blue chairs and couches with polished bronze trimming, top-quality wooden bookshelves with zero mold and mildew, spotless white carpet without any signs of frequency wear. The third floor was the kitchen and dining room, from where the cook would prepare and serve all the meals, all the surfaces, cabinets, and appliances covered in a mix of faint yellow and earthy orange with jet black accents.

The fourth floor was the last that the staircase reached, and could best be described as the living room. Like the sitting room, it housed tables and seating, though this time various shades of green with silver accents. It also contained the entertainment devices, specifically a radio, a television, and a computer. Finally, it was the site of the transporters that led to the more private upper floors.

Melia was trying to remain stoic and detached, but it was pretty much impossible to avoid the memories being resurfaced by the old interiors - and she hadn't even reached the bedrooms yet. She wasn't about to back out of it just for being emotional, though.

Out of the five transporters, she selected the one that led to the ninth floor first - the balcony level. She wasn't allowed up here until she turned 25, and wasn't exactly a fan of it anyways, having had a bad experience with the Sky Terrace in the past. Besides, the balcony only looked out towards the palace, which while an impressive view, wasn't all that interesting. Next she visited the eighth floor, her old bathroom. It was the only room she was ever allowed to have an opinion on the appearace of, so of course it was decked out in eye-searing purple and magenta. It looked awful to her aged mind, but it at least gave her something to laugh about.

Her bedroom was on the seventh floor. Coloured a much more reasonable lavender and half-blue, it looked just as she remembered it, though it seemed a fair bit smaller. She hadn't quite realized that the bed, dresser, and closet were all in the same configuration as her chambers in the palace - a clear-in-hindsight attempt at making her feel more at ease when she initially moved.

 _But this begs the question,_ she thought through the emotions, _which bedroom is supposed to be mine now? Am I supposed to return to my the room of my child self, or...or take possession of my mother's room?_ Neither possibility was all that appealing or sensible. If she was supposed to undergo a change of scenery in order to feel more adult-like, returning to either room where so much past existed would be exactly the opposite of what she needed. _If I'm feeling so down just by visiting this place, I am certainly not ready to live here. It would take several visits over a period of time to eventually reduce the negative nostalgia to tolerable levels. And I can't just order everything to be stripped bare and redone from scratch; that would destroy the history of the place._ While she had effectively decided by now that she'd be staying in the palace for the time being, she was compelled to finish her visit; it was no good evaluating the place if she wasn't going to look at everything.

The fifth floor housed the master bathroom. Melia had very little memory of it, as she was almost never allowed in, so it was a unique experience to definitively fill in a hole in her mental map. Most of the surfaces were an opulent pearl with the occasional amethyst flair. The ambient smell was an unfamiliar mix of "clean" and "product", which made sense to her - of course a Homs would require different shampoos and other such things.

Finally, she stepped on the transporter that led to the sixth floor and the master bedroom. She was half-hoping that it would refuse her entry, as it had all the other times she tried to get in without her mother being there already, but it was not the case. The room's walls were the colour of sky, fading from light blue at the bottom to dark blue at the top. The bed was a watery aqua, while all the other furniture was a blue-tinged silver.

Having confirmed that everything was indeed completely unchanged, Melia turned to leave. But just before she stepped back on the transporter, she saw something quite out of place: an envelope was sticking out of one of the desk drawers. This was highly unusual; her mother hated to get papers crimped or creased, and leaving them sticking out of something was a surefire way for it to happen.

Up until now, she had left everything in the villa completely untouched. But there was just no way she could leave this insult to order laying around. Careful to not touch anything else - not that there was all that much to touch - she plucked the envelope out of the drawer.

Her name was written on the front in Homs lettering.

Desperate for something to latch onto, the genre-savvy cynic in Melia's mind immediately pushed its way to the forefront. _Here we go, the sappy "letter from beyond the grave". What's the over/under for cliché count?_ She shook her head, trying to dispel the negativity. _Anything could be written here. It could be a letter to me, but it could also be an unfinished will, or a plea to Father about something relating to me. In any case, it is clear that someone wishes me to read it, whether it be her or whoever else placed it in such a precarious way._

Unable to stop her hands from trembling, she slowly opened the unsealed envelope and extracted the folded paper within. It had been a while since she'd read a large block of Homs text, but it became second nature again after a few sentences.

_Hello Melia. If you're reading this, then I'm probably dead, or at least no longer well enough to continue mothering you. And that's okay! Parents aren't supposed to outlive their children. And in my case...well, I really didn't have a hope of failing in that manner, did I? Or at least I hope not._

_I'll try to keep this a bit short, I know you can't stand it when I make you stand there and listen to me go on about something. You already know what you did wrong or need to do right, and hearing me tell you just bothers and upsets you, but you stand there and take it and nod anyway, because it's what needs to be done. And that's the perfect attitude to have. I don't know where you're at in life right now, but know that your unique kind of serenity is exactly what this family needs, no matter what position you have in it. The world's only going to get craizier, and calmness is the perfect way to counter it.  
_

_That's all I wanted to say really. It's not like I have any big secrets to lay on you, and we talk often enough that there shouldn't be anything major that I might not get a chance to tell you. You still have Kallian, after all! Even if he gets the throne before you do, he'll still be your best bet if you need to talk about something personal. He may try hard to hide it but he's a big softie for you. In fact, just in case he does something sneaky about it, know that he's the one I've entrusted this letter with. I'm sure he'll find the best time to put it into your hands._

_Well that's it then. I hope I can still watch you grow from whatever afterlife there is, because otherwise it'll be pretty boring waiting another three or four hundred years to see you again. Don't let me down.  
_

There was a post-scriptum, but she decided not to read it for the moment. She needed the services of the box of tissues sitting on the desk.

With the sniffling mostly subsided, she thought more deeply about what she'd just read. The part that stuck out to her was the phrase "unique kind of serenity". It was true that she outwardly appeared to be the least emotional of all the royal family, even if it was not necessarily so on the inside, and that such would certainly be a positive quality for someone in a position of power to have. With Kallian on the throne, her cautious and emotionless advice would provide the perfect contrast to his more aggressive and hasty style.

_I have been trained to suppress emotion at all times, but the same does not seem to hold for Father and Brother. They routinely express joy, discontent, and anger when carrying out imperial duties, whereas if I were in those situations I would be expected to remain calm and passive. It is not a double standard as I initially believed; it is a way to ensure two completely different thought processes can evaluate a situation. That is my role, to be a second opinion once Brother takes the throne, to work as a sibling team just as Father and Aunt did.  
_

Now feeling accomplished rather than sad, she read the final line of the letter, written much more faintly and messily than the rest of it.

_P.S. Slap Kallian in the face for me. I'm sure he's done something to deserve it._

Melia stared blankly at the post-scriptum, slowly parsing it.

After about fifteen seconds, she chuckled. It was funny. The mere suggestion of either of them slapping Kallian for something was just humerous; the two consorts never more than verbally reprimanded each others' offspring, and she didn't know either of them to resort to slapping, combined with how she personally didn't know Kallian to be anything other than an upstanding rules-conscious individual. It was just funny.

Too funny, in fact. The chuckle slowly turned into a giggle and then a full-bodied laugh, accompanied by a few extra tears that didn't get the chance to escape earlier. In no time she had rolled off the chair and onto the floor, doubled over in uncontrollable laughter.

It took several minutes for things to calm down. Once she composed herself again, she replaced the letter in the envelope and took it with her as she left the villa, returning to her chambers in the palace.

_I needed this. Now I know for certain that I have a purpose rather than simply existing. My serenity will ensure that Brother does not do anything too hasty._

* * *

Three months had passed since Melia finished her schooling, and there was still no sign of being assigned anything to replace it. She didn't mind all that much - it gave her more time to read - but she worried somewhat that her intellectual skills would get rusty by the time she was actually given something to do.

She still had her staff training, of course. She could now summon nine simultaneous Reflection panels in an instant and was getting quite close to adding a tenth. As a result, Reddel moved to introduce her next art.

"Power Effect is quite simple: it is an aura that doubles the range of the passive effects of your elementals." He paused for a moment. "Now tell me what you think of such an art."

Melia considered the question for about two minutes before coming to a mostly-complete answer. "The ability to put extra distance between myself and my partners without sacrificing support abilities will be useful against large foes with wide-ranging attacks. But that extra distance also means an increase in difficulty when it comes to providing help in either direction. In addition, beings can only have a single aura present at a time, meaning it cannot coexist with the burst aura. Finally, I would have to pay closer attention to both distance and timing, to ensure that I move back into range once the aura dissipates. Therefore, at first glance, it seems that the only way this art could be truly beneficial is if it takes very little time to recharge once expired."

"I couldn't have put it better myself." Reddel demonstrated, waving his staff and causing blue waves of energy to radiate from his feet. "Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to describe how to activate the aura, and as only the user can feel the effects, the sensation cannot be felt vicariously. All I can say is that you must have intent to expand your personal influence, and push it outside the existing boundaries. You must spread your support to more distant friends."

Melia frowned a bit. With only one mock battle a year, she felt she didn't have nearly enough experience fighting with teammates to properly comprehend a teamwork-based aura. But she'd give it a go anyway.

Standing still, she imagined a blue bubble around herself at the normal range of her elemental buffs. Once the image was clear in her mind, she started spinning her staff and trying to push the bubble outwards without bursting it. Somewhat as expected, she couldn't feel anything. She kept trying for a few minutes with no apparent results.

 _Am I supposed to be pushing the outer range itself, or inflating it from inside?_ She switched tactics, now imagining that she was trying to emit air in order to expand the imaginary bubble, trying to mimic the same "bloated" sensation that a near-completed burst aura felt like by puffing herself up. She still didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

After a total of ten minutes of trying, she paused to reconsider, waving off whatever Reddel was about to say. _I've been trying a gradual push. Perhaps a sudden impulse would be better._

She slowly began lifting one leg into the air while crossing her arms in front of her face, before suddenly stomping the floor and extending her arms, trying to let out a solid blast of the indescribable feeling.

"Ah!" A tiny blue ring appeared from the point she had stomped her foot, fading away before reaching any sort of reasonable size. She also felt an odd warmth cover her body that also quickly evaporated.

"Good!" exclaimed Reddel. "Just what I was about to suggest, a more forceful pulse of energy. You will soon learn to skip the exaggerated motion. However, now comes the waiting part. As an aura, you cannot simply re-activate it on a whim; it requires time to regenerate. As a beginner, the ratio of active time to recharge time is very poor, and can only be improved by practice."

"How will I know when it has recharged?"

"You will feel the same feeling that the aura itself provides, but much weaker and only for a moment. It is not out of the question that you may miss it if you are not paying enough attention."

Melia nodded and stood to wait. It took about a minute and a half, but eventually she did feel something faint in the core of her body that any other day she'd dismiss as a random throb or twitch. She went through the exaggerated motion that worked previously and found success again, stomping out another small blue ring and invisible bath of warmth.

_One second of effect for ninety seconds of recharge, that is a poor ratio indeed. Obviously quite a bit of practice will be needed._

* * *

March had been a good month so far. The weather had been nice for several days in a row. Power Effect was coming along; though the effect duration was still less than five seconds, the recharge time had shrunk to about a minute. But most importantly, Melia still had no major obligations, and was now throughly enjoying it, knowing that it would eventually end and probably never come back. She spent her days reading books, sketching random things, writing fantastical short stories, and occasionally messing around with her bass guitar.

With the imperial guard doing a lot of training exercises today, she had decided to spend the day out of the palace, at a public library. It was a nice change of pace to read a story at the library if she didn't want to pay for a book she wasn't sure about, though she couldn't actually borrow anything due to lacking an address for a library card.

For lunch, she stopped in at a nearby coffee shop, and was meandering her way back to the library afterwards with her mind wandering across a variety of deep questions.

_If bees don't use the visible spectrum anyways, why are there no green flowers?_

_Why has Father not yet officially announced Brother as his successor?_

_How does each Seer find a spouse and keep it a complete secret from everyone for the entirety of recorded history?_

_Why would DNA sequencing research be outlawed unless there's something to hide?_

_Why are electric crystals yellow yet electric elementals are purple?_

_Why would the Mechon build the Mechonis a replacement arm unless they held it in religious reverence somehow?_

_What happened to the people of Colony 7?_

_Why have I been hearing so much from Nopon citizens about red pollen orbs lately?_

_Why would Father recommend I live in the villa if he were not trying to ostracize me from the family?_

_Why-_

Something happened. She didn't know why, but she suddenly tensed up and felt adrenaline starting to flow. It was as if she had sensed some unnamed danger, but didn't know what it was or where it was coming from. Instinctively casting her mind around, she could feel a strong presence above her, descending quickly.

Looking up, she saw a gigantic Hiln, diving out of the sky straight towards her.

Without thinking, she dashed down the nearest alley. The huge bird landed with a sizeable impact and attempted to follow, but was far too large to fit down the narrow passage, only managing to stick its neck in and leer at her. After a few seconds, it decided she wasn't worth the effort and turned down the street. A few screams could be heard in the distance.

 _That must be Cyclonic Twixl, the dangerous beast sighted circling the city yesterday,_ Melia realized. _It must have found a gap in the defense systems, no doubt caused by all the training exercises today._ She peeked her head back out of the alley to see that the bird had already made quite some headway down the street, using its wings to blow over various objects. _I can't just sit here and let that thing rampage through the city. Not when today's training exercises will be slowing the reaction time of the authorities to a crawl._

She stepped out of the alley and prepared to pursue the beast before considering further. _I can't attack it without becoming the centre of attention, and it would be far too suspicious for the public to see a citizen with the same arts and ether affinity as the princess. Therefore, if I wish to slow it down, I'll have to retrieve my public headdress, and fight it as the princess.  
_

Melia hurried back into the alley and clambered into the vent at the end before using the Chozo interface to launch herself towards the palace. Once she arrived in her room and donned her headdress, she started considering the plan of attack.

_I want to lure the beast somewhere it cannot do much damage. If I can't get it to a park or clearing, a rooftop seems decent enough. Attacking from above should be a potent strategy anyways._

She travelled through the vents again, reaching a three-storey rooftop about a block ahead of the Hiln's rampage. It was moving downtown at a constant rate, swatting the occasional vehicle away and scaring off the crowd before anyone could be seriously injured.

_No one's going to be looking up here when that beast is rampaging around, there's no way anyone saw me appear._

_I'm going to need some footspeed to draw the creature easier and firepower to effectively lure it away from the population centre._ Melia started by summoning a wind and two flares, firing the second at the Hiln down below. It seemed to resist the elemental's burning effects and merely slowed down its rampage, but the second flare caught its back on fire and caused it to stop and look upwards.

 _Yes, focus up here, away from the citizens._ Melia tossed down a third flare. Twixl took it right in the face, which made it turn around and crouch down. Melia responded by running across the roof, forcing it to reconsider jumping and instead walk back up the street following her.

Melia came to the edge of the roof quicker than expected. Summoning a second wind, she leapt off and narrowly landed on the next building, the two air elementals giving her a boost in aerial manoeuverability. She then pelted the Hiln with a bolt, causing it to screech and project a ball of snot from its mouth, which was enough of a glancing hit across the top of her head that she fell over. Picking herself up and resuming her dash, she went to look back down at the enemy to find that it had taken to the air, and seemed to be planning to land on the roof she was on.

 _Uh-oh._ Melia saw that the next building ahead of her was four storeys tall, one more than the one she was nearing the end of. Acting on instinct, she created a third wind and pushed off with all her might, soaring across the gap and just barely latching her arms onto the overhanging edge. Taking a few seconds to clamber up, she saw that Twixl was standing in the middle of the roof, ready to have a proper fight.

The enemy made the first move, throwing a horizontal wing strike. Melia blocked it with her staff but was propelled across the roof, tumbling to a stop a ways from where she started. Discharging one of her winds before getting up, she landed a solid blow on the creature's knee, tripping it slightly and slowing its advance. She replaced her second wind with a flare and fired it too, setting its left wing on fire. Busy flapping trying to extinguish the flames, Twixl's next attack was a beak stab, which Melia saw coming and dodged easily, trying to gain control over the centre of the battlefield.

Thowing her last wind elemental into the enemy's face, causing it to recoil slightly, Melia then took time to summon an earth one, followed by a bolt. Trying to decide what third tool to utilize, she was caught off guard by a vertical wing slap and couldn't move fast enough to avoid it, taking a solid knockdown blow to the back of her legs. Rolling onto her back, she held up her staff to block the second slap, acting as a contact spike and distracting the foe enough for her to stand back up.

Melia's next move was to use Shadow Stitch, but Twixl hopped backwards out of the art's range and leapt forwards for a talon attack. But it interrupted its aerial dash and came to a halt before lobbing another ball of snot at a recently-arrived news craft, trying to capture footage of the battle. Melia took the opportunity to discharge her bolt and summon an aqua in its place, striking the bird in the throat for critical damage.

Now thoroughly upset, the giant Hiln let out an ear-piercing screech and tried to stab Melia with its beak again. She avoided it without too much trouble and pelted it with her aqua, replacing it with another bolt. She felt the whole fight was going rather well, but with a shaky balance; one misstep would be disasterous.

"MELIA!" It was Kallian's voice. She glanced over her shoulder to see him coming in for a landing via the Illustrious Alighting, alongside Captain Denzel.

"Brother!" She dodged another beak stab. "What-"

"We will talk later." He extracted his telescopic rapier and flourished it to maximum length, while Denzel wielded both a rapier and a shield. "For now, we fight!"

Melia nodded. She was both hesitant and excited to watch Kallian fight, and even more so to battle alongside him for the first time.

The prince did not disappoint. He opened up with Challenger, an attention-seeking art that instantly locked the enemy's animosity onto himself. From there, he unleashed a wide selection of attacks in succession, from Flare Blade to Dancing Rapier to Quick Slice to even Thunder Punch, stacking up a number of debuffs while dealing high amounts of damage. Denzel's style was less flashy but still quite effective, dishing out the pain with a variety of physical arts. Melia didn't need to do much other than ensure her elementals were close enough to boost their offensive power. Cyclonic Twixl didn't have much of a chance to even hit them.

"Prepare for a Chain Attack!" Kallian turned to Melia, knowing she had never done so before, and began speaking extremely quickly. "Normally, combatants use their intimate familiarity with one another's battle styles to link a combination of attacks together without needing to communicate. But if we know in advance you will be discharging elementals, that should be sufficient for our purposes. Just act on your turn!"

Nervous, Melia nodded. With Denzel also ready, Kallian threw out another Quick Slice and then began the assault.

"For the _people_!" He planted an elbow into the Hiln, which knocked it askew.

"Bow before us!" Denzel used a Down Kick, making the enemy crumple to the ground.

Melia assumed that the one-liners were a means of timing attacks, and so hastily improvised one. "Um...Purifying flames!" She fired her flare into the foe.

"For _justice_!" Kallian delivered a devastating flying knee into the Hiln's jaw, stunning it.

"Cease!" Denzel applied a Star Punch, amplifying the dazed effect.

"Er...Bolt from the blue!" Melia launched her bolt. The creature was barely moving now.

"You are no more!" Kallian finished it with a Coup de Grâce, eliminating any more life the beast had with a single strike.

The group paused for a moment, ensuring that the enemy was indeed dead. Denzel prodded it a few times to no reaction.

Kallian nodded and turned to the news craft, which was also emitting a holoscreen of the events to the mob watching from ground level. "People of Alcamoth! You need worry no longer, the beast has been slayed!"

A cheer rose up from the crowd. Kallian continued his speech. "Let it be known that our success in defeating this creature hinged upon the actions of Lady Melia. Without her bravery and committment to save the populace from evils, there may have been much more destruction and heartache. She is the true hero of the day!"

 _...why._ Melia stoically stared into space as the people below applauded. _Why did you call me out like that. There was absolutely no need for it. You were on your way regardless, you could've easily stopped it without my help._ She was feeling a bit on-edge and somewhat deprived of closure, having ended the fight only one or two discharges away from bursting.

Kallian turned away from the cameras. "Let us return to the palace immediately. A cleanup crew will have to be formed and dispatched. Probably not in enough time for today's dinner, but it should be an impressive haul nevertheless."

Denzel stood to attention. "Sir. I shall remain here for the moment, in case others have heard of these events and independently broken off training to come and aid."

"Very well, Captain. Come, Melia." He stepped back onto the Illustrious Alighting and started the engines.

Melia slowly climbed on board and sat in the passenger chair as Kallian steered towards the palace and took off. She had the distinct feeling she would probably be in trouble for being outside as the princess without a guard, regardless of the outcome, and that Kallian was probably about to discuss it with her on the journey back. The agitated ether churning within her didn't help, waiting for a burst aura that wasn't coming.

"I trust you wouldn't mind us using your craft for this occasion, sister. With all the training exercises today, it was the easiest ship to launch with little notice."

 _...that's not what I expected to hear._ "Er, indeed. I have no qualms with the decision."

"It really is a marvelous piece of engineering. Tell me, do you carry its remote control with you as you wander outside the palace? If not, perhaps you should consider it. You may not be willing to fly it yourself, but you can still use its autopilot to return to the palace from anywhere."

"...I will consider it." _Not a bad idea to be fair, but actually using it would reveal my identity instantly. It would be a last resort. Actually,_ "But I would need to have something to carry it around in that is less conspicuous than a handbag."

Nod. "Indeed. We shall get you a travel pouch, a tiny bag that can be concealed almost anywhere on your person, for you to store it in." A pause. "Of course, it seems as if you have an even faster way to flit about the city, given that you were already waiting in the monster's path before we even departed."

Melia's face turned white under her mask. Kallian was almost certainly about to force her to reveal the Chozo interface, essentially her one big secret. There was no way she could invent-

"But that's impossible," he continued, exaggeratedly shaking his head. "There isn't any possible way for you to travel that quickly without a ship, even if you could ride the very winds. No, you must have seen the danger far earlier than anyone else. Or perhaps the Seer tipped you off, yes, that is certainly what must have happened. In light of that, I am personally okay with you leaving the palace unattended, and will do what I can to get Father to share said view. I do not expect him to lift the restriction permanently, though. I am sure you understand why it exists."

"...I...I appreciate your help." It was pretty clear to her that Kallian had already determined she had some secret method of transportation, but was choosing to turn a blind eye. The alibi he invented still had a weak link, but as long as her father took it at face value and never asked the seer about it, she'd be in the clear.

"Oh, and one more thing." Kallian had reached the hangar doors and activated an automatic parking function. "Your contribution to our chain attack was a significant part of our success. There can be no greater advantage than the ability to use one's talent art repeatedly, allowing for incredible flexibility of tactics. I shall see to it that you learn the full nature of chain attacks sooner rather than later." The ship stopped moving. "Now, Father will be expecting to hear from us. We should see him immediately."


	18. Chill

The next training day after her adventure with the giant Hiln, Melia was surprised to see Reddel reading a newspaper while waiting for her.

"Oh dear, is it that time already?" He looked up from the perfectly smooth pages; the front-page headline read " _MELIA DEFEATS TWIXL_ ". "Sorry, but there's quite the interesting article in there about your exploits the other day."

"I see." Melia hadn't bothered to find out how the public saw the incident. She expected it to be just like the Bunnit extermination: a short boost of popularity that would fade away quickly enough.

"Some of these quotes are very telling," he continued. "The people are pretty impressed that you decided to jump into a situation way out of your league, yet managed to hold your own before help arrived."

Melia didn't react; for once the media got it right.

"And that leads into today." Reddel folded up the newspaper into a tiny parcel before stashing it into his vest. "At the request of Prince Kallian, it's time for a formal introduction to chain attacks."

_Oh yes, Brother did say he was going to do something about that._

"The Chain Attack is one of the most powerful techniques that can be taught. Concurrently, it is one of the most difficult to master, as its proper execution relies very heavily on the degree of teamwork that can be mustered. Indeed, attempting to use a chain attack with a team of uncoordinated fighters often results in no more effectiveness than simply acting independently. In order to initiate a chain attack, all of its participants must be engaged and motivated in the battle, with enough focus and gusto and team spirit to feel like anything is possible. This is an extremely difficult mental state to practice, especially alone, and to our knowledge outright impossible to artificially synthesize. So for today we shall have to make do with theory, and not practice."

Melia nodded. She was okay with this; she didn't like the high-pressure situation of being a link in a battle chain, and to be perfectly honest, she figured the chances of a similar situation ever recurring were next to zero.

Reddel began iterating over the important aspects of chain attack theory. It was quite long-winded, but none of it was superfluous: the necessity of immediate action, the optimality of three users, the effects of the chain field on the seven different categories of arts. Most of it was common sense, or something she had read about in the past few years, but there was the occasional surprising factoid. Most notably, her Spear Break would probably function as a damage art in a chain instead of a break art, only switching to its intended type once properly executed.

"There remains one last thing to mention, and it involves the very reason we are here today. When properly executed, one's talent art - the signature move that defines one's character - acts as a sort of wildcard, a link between any other two categories of arts. Normally, having a talent art ready for a chain attack must be crafted and prepared well in advance for this purpose. But in your case, where your talent art happens to be your primary ability, you can link your partners' arts together with little effort. It is an incredibly versatile ability that is unheard of to my knowledge, so I expect you to exploit it to its full potential."

Melia continued nodding, mostly paying attention but also zoning out somewhat. She learned much better when reading as opposed to when listening.

"That's all that we can do on chain attacks for now. If the opportunity ever arises in a future mock battle, you should jump at the chance to practice it. However, it will not be possible to force the situation; it must arise organically." A pause. "Now, with an additional reason to push past that roadbloak, how about practicing that Spear Break."

The nodding stopped, replaced by a straight face. _Uggggh._

* * *

Melia was sauntering back to her chambers, rather exhausted from the day's work.

Starting two weeks ago, she had finally been assigned imperial duties. Specifically, she would stand alongside her father as he conducted business on Mondays and Fridays, offering opinions and advice when necessary, instead of Kallian doing so on most days. It started out as a nice change of pace but almost immediately became tiresome, having to listen to dozens of issues a day that held no interest to her, yet required her full attention in case she was asked something about it. She supposed it was only fair that she help reduce Kallian's workload now that they were both equally trained in imperial matters, but it meant she had to wake up earlier and wear her headdress the entire day, an unpleasant combination.

Opening the door to her chambers, she immediately spotted something unusual: a letter was sitting on the floor, having been inserted through the mail slot earlier in the day.

Melia was intrigued. Aside from the yearly care packages from her fanclub, which she went to pick up from the palace mailroom herself, she had never received mail from the outside world before.

Once she had replaced her headdress on the shelf, she returned to her desk to fetch a letter opener and extract the paper from the envelope. Stamped on the header was the logo of Ike's, the fast food chain.

_Salutations, Your Highness Princess Melia:_

_We are sending this letter to extend a request to you. Should you be displeased with receiving this unsolicited message, we apologize, and will not attempt to include you in any future endeavours._

_As you may be aware, a few years prior, we enlisted the aid of His Highness Prince Kallian in a seasonal television advertisement campaign, which was quite well-received. This year, we are looking to build on this success via the juxtaposition of the previous advertisement with a new one that initially looks the same, but diverges midway through. It is with this goal in mind that we humbly ask if you would be so kind as to participate._

_Should you wish to pursue this opportunity to further improve your public image, please reply to this letter as soon as possible so we can establish a meeting to discuss things in full. We await your prompt response._

_Respectfully,_

_Werle Sodernaught, Marketing Manager_

Melia didn't know what to think. From what she could tell, the letter basically boiled down to "please be in our commercial", and being on television outside news broadcasts was something she'd never even imagined. The only form of media she ever paid attention to was books; she didn't care about television, and could probably count the number of films she had ever shown interest in on one hand.

Kallian, on the other hand, was very much in the public eye media-wise; he'd been a guest celebrity on several reality shows, and had lent his voice to at least three animated children's productions. She was aware he had appeared in advertisements, but not this particular one, and had never seen any of them anyway.

_What am I going to do with this request?_ She read the letter over again. _The desired end result does seem amusing, but...given that I must wear my headdress in public, am I at all suitable to be an actress? If the original advertisement was popular, won't replacing Brother with me make it less popular by definition?  
_

_Perhaps I should seek Brother's opinion._ Melia replaced the letter into the envelope and started trying to think of where Kallian could be; usually it was him seeking her out for some reason or other, not the other way around. Luckily, she knew his personal ether signature extremely well, allowing her to mentally probe likely rooms in the palace until she could sense it in his chambers. It was a process that took a few minutes, but it was still faster than aimlessly wandering around the halls.

Now with a target, she started moving along at a brisk walk. The royal family's chambers were all highly separated from each other to minimize the chances of a single catastrophe affecting more than one of them, though this of course meant that it was a pain to get from one to another.

As usual, the door was open when she arrived; Kallian only closed it during the night, and otherwise allowed anyone free entry at any time. She peeked inside to see that Kallian was sitting at his desk, mulling over a chessboard.

_Looks like he's busy, I'll come back-_

"Ah, Melia." He didn't need to look up or turn around to sense who was there. "You may enter, I'll be just a moment."

Melia did as she was told, carefully stepping inside the room and nervously sitting in the guest chair. She didn't come to Kallian's room much. Part of it was because of the way it had the same underlying structure as her room, but with different contents and colours, causing an uncomfortable "familiar yet unfamiliar" sensation; another reason was simply that she rarely had any reason to.

She could see what Kallian was doing now - he had set up a position from the chess column in the newspaper, and was trying to solve the puzzle. Melia knew the basics of chess but had no real interest in a game of such massive complexity that took hours to play.

After about a minute, Kallian muttered something to himself and moved one of the light-coloured ministers to the edge of the board. From there he started a sequence of moves that culminated in a champion attacking both dark consorts at once. This seemed to solve the problem, as he proceeded to flip to the next page of the paper, check something, and nod in satisfaction.

He then turned to Melia. "Now, what is it you wished to ask?"

"I received a piece of mail today and do not know what to make of it. I would like your advice." She held out the letter, which Kallian took and began to read.

A smile quickly appeared on his face, which only got bigger as he finished reading it. "Indeed! This is a prime opportunity for you to boost your public image. I wholeheartedly recommend that you participate."

Melia expected a more subdued "perhaps" or "if you feel like it", not unreserved support. "Are...are you sure?"

"Certainly. A leader must build the support of their people so that they have it before they need it. For better or for worse, you have been somewhat of a recluse up until now, only appearing in the public eye on rare occasions after undertaking a grand task. Now that you have outgrown the mandatory seclusion of your childhood, perhaps it is time you start trying to shed that label."

"But...but the logistics do not-"

"They would not have contacted you if they had any doubt over their ability to film an advertisement with a masked royal actress. I expect they would have spent several days considering the issue before they made their decision."

_I suppose that is true._ Melia grinded her teeth a bit. This was turning into a prime example of "don't ask questions you don't want answered".

Kallian raised a finger as if he had suddenly realized something. "I believe I have a copy of the version of the advertisement I assisted with. Give me a moment." He then disappeared into the closet and began rummaging around what sounded like an extensive group of filing cabinets. After about twenty seconds, he reappared holding a small holoscreen. "Here, have a look."

Melia took hold of the screen and pressed the play button.

_Hot summer day. A bunch of people are sitting out on the patio of an Ike's. Everyone is dressed lightly and sweating like mad.  
_

_The shot cuts to focus on two of them, a young man and woman, both in their eighties. On the table in front of them is a pair of sandwiches and drinks._

_"Man, it's a hot one today," says the guy. "Good thing they've got Cool Lemonade."_

_"Too right," says the girl. "I don't know how it could get any hotter." She takes a sip._

_An approaching person's shadow crawls over the table, followed by him speaking._

_"Beg pardon, fellows, ..." The shot cuts to the new arrival's torso and pans up to the face, revealing it to be Kallian. He appears equally uncomfortable in the heat. "...but could I partake in a bit of your drink?"_

_The guy seems a bit stunned, in a "why is he here" sense. The girl is clearly star-struck (and perhaps a bit lovestruck) and eagerly offers her cup. "O-o-of course, Y-your H-highness."_

_"Thank you." Kallian pops the lid off the cup and takes a long gulp. Now clearly refreshed, he replaces it on the table half-empty. "My gratitude is yours, madam."_

_The girl is completely aflutter, unable to sit still. The guy is a mix of impressed and jealous._

_Distant fixed shot of Kallian walking down the street. Voiceover begins as relevant graphics appear onscreen. "Cool Lemonade._ Everyone _loves it. Just 8G this summer. Half price if it's 30 or hotter out. Ike's; Prepared Ourselves."_

The screen went blank as the playback finished.

"As you can see," Kallian said, "the entire scene is quite simple. It took no more than four or five takes to film, and no longer than half an hour. It should pose no challenge for you at all."

Melia was stuck with the all-too familiar feeling of being led into doing something she had no interest in - Kallian would almost certainly find a way to make her go even if she refused at the moment, given that he did provide reasonable advantages to doing so - and had to put a lot of effort into not releasing a disappointed sigh. "Very well, Brother. I shall compose a reply in the affirmative posthaste."

Kallian chuckled. "You don't _have_ to call me "brother", you know. I do have a name. It's only seven letters."

"You know very well that Mother would not approve of that."

"Mother is..." He paused for a moment, checking for footsteeps in the hall. "Mother is a bit of a toff. I approve of any action that rustles her in minor, inconsequential ways."

Melia was significantly less comfortable with even slightly upsetting Yumea, who was probably the person in daily life she was the most fearful of. "You say that, yet I do not recall any case where you have done so yourself."

He smirked. "That's the trick, you see. Subtlety is the key. Schedule testing of certain ether compounds so that putrid fumes fill the lab just as she attempts to visit. Order enough snacks during the day so that when the forks are distributed for dinner, the very slightly bent one is placed at her seat. Stumble into a pillar on a lower floor at just the right angle so that the resonance of the impact causes her toothbrush to fall off its rack. There are endless possibilities."

_How about you focus your intellect into finding some wives instead of irritating your mother, and as a result souring her daily mood towards me and others?_ "That's all very impressive, but also quite a waste of effort."

Kallian casually flipped one of dark's captured pawns into the air and caught it with his other hand. "Everyone needs a hobby."

Melia was somewhat unnerved by Kallian's carefree attitude and decided that she didn't need to stay any longer. "If you say so. Thank you for your input." She then turned to leave.

"You are welcome, sister."

_Rrrrrrrrrrrrrgh._ She didn't understand why him calling her "sister" bugged her so much. It was probably because he used "Melia" the vast majority of the time; it was as if he was mocking her for her own choice of words.

She looked back at the letter as she walked back to ther room. It was typed, so her reply would have to be likewise. _I suppose it will do me good to send a real letter into the real world, instead of just the mockups done while learning to write letters._

* * *

Melia could feel the heat rolling out of the set the instant the door opened. _Good grief, it's even hotter than it looked in Brother's version._

The set was very simple - only the patio and tables actually existed, with a group of holoscreens projecting the surrounding landscape inwards. A huge spotlight dominated the ceiling, flooding the room with massive amounts of light and heat. About a dozen crewmembers milled about, while the two "main character" actors and their sandwiches were already sitting at the target table.

"Ah, Lady Melia, you're right on time." The director, a stocky man named Meerlo Url, looked up from a checklist to welcome her. "And this is...?"

"I am Aizel, Lady Melia's guard of the day."

"Good, good." Url clicked his pen a few times. "We're pretty much ready to start shooting, unless you have any objections, Lady Melia."

"I do not." What else was she supposed to say? All the details had already been ironed out when she met with the director a week ago. Only the two main actors would be present, as the only shot with the rest of the crowd was the introductory one that could simply be reused. She had no set lines, but was to keep the timing and feel of the scene as close to the original as possible. The hovercams would trace the exact same paths through the air, meaning that unless she flubbed something or one of the other actors blanked, only one take would be necessary. It couldn't really be any simpler.

"Excellent." The director pointed to a translucent red line on the floor. "There's your path through the shot. I'll give you this hand motion to start moving." He made a quick and definitive point forwards. "Are you ready, Your Highness?"

"I am." Melia uncomfortably rubbed her hands across her hips, trying to reduce their sweatiness. The advanced metamaterials used in modern clothing normally did a good job at spreading sweat out so it could evaporate more efficiently, but they were simply being outpaced by the immense heat. And of course, there was no such technology being used inside her hotbox of a headdress.

Url nodded and spoke into his pen, which amplified his voice. "Okay places everyone. Let's get this done."

The crewmembers hustled to their respective locations. One of them extracted two cups of Cool Lemonade from a fridge and placed them on the table in front of the actors, who sat up and cleared their throats.

Melia nervously shuffled to the head of the red line as Aizel backed off to the side. Even though the interaction was staged, it was still pretty much the first time she'd have to speak to one or two citizens as the princess without backup standing right beside her. It was a much different feel than the one time she addressed her fanclub as a whole, mostly because it was being recorded for broadcast.

"We all ready?" With no indication to the contrary, Url motioned to an assistant, who pressed a button on a device to play four beeps. Once the fourth beep sounded, the cameras lit up and the scene began.

"Man, it's a hot one today. Good thing they've got Cool Lemonade."

Melia was impressed at how similar the delivery was to the original, but she didn't get much time to think about it before she saw Url point her forward. Not wanting to mess up and force a restart, she moved forward at what seemed like a reasonable walking pace.

"Too right."

As Melia crossed through the background holoscreens, the illusion of being outside came into full force. It was very realistic, with the fake sun positioned exactly where the giant spotlight was, and the buildings in the distance parallaxing with her movement. The cameras were also no longer visible, which was a relief - she wasn't sure how she could otherwise avoid having them subconsciously disturb her gaze.

"I don't know how it could get any hotter."

_Alright, approach the table so my shadow climbs up it without myself coming close enough to be visible._ She crept closer until she reached the stop in the line on the floor, her shadow having just barely reached the table's edge. _Wait, why...oh, Brother is tall enough for his shadow to reach that far._ She halted where the line told her to, as opposed to coming closer to bring her shadow up. _I hope that isn't considered a failed take._

_Wait I have to say something now. Er..._ "Excuse me. Would either of you be alright with sharing your drink?" _That was bad. Not nearly as respectful as Brother's-_

"O-of course, Y-your Highness." The guy responded this time, as opposed to the girl had to Kallian. In addition, both of them seemed equally bemused and impressed at her appearance, as if they did not know beforehand who they were expecting.

"Thank you." A bit addled by how things were going slightly different than expected, Melia carefully took the offered cup and brought it up to her face. It did indeed smell refreshing. _Now what did Brother do here? He removed the lid and drank from the rim with an exaggerated tilting motion. I can't do that, but perhaps can achieve similar._ She took the as-yet unused straw and fed it under the chin of her mask, pulling and bending it around until she could grab it with her teeth. From there, she started drinking with the same exaggerated head tilt that Kallian had done.

She didn't actually expect the lemonade to taste any better than "fine", but was pleasantly surprised. Maybe it was just the fact that the cooling effect was a welcome relief from the insane heat. For a moment she forgot she was filming an advertisement. But once the pulled-out straw could no longer reach the remaining half of the drink, she came back to reality.

"Your generosity is commendable and much appreciated." Melia placed the half-empty cup back on the table, glancing down to confirm that she was supposed to turn left. _That sounded alright I suppose._ She stood for long enough to garner a reaction - the guy was a little flustered but also in awe, while the girl was swooning a bit. With the interaction complete, she turned and began walking away, following the line on the floor until she passed through the holoscreens again and was back in the real world.

A loud beep emitted from the assistant's timing device, signalling the end of the take. Everyone started preparing to do the shot over again.

"Woah guys, woah, wooooooaaaah." Url held up his hands. "Don't be so hasty. We mighta struck gold here first try." He motioned to someone who was holding a collection of screens and started looking through the various camera angles along with a few other people.

Melia cautiously started walking around the edge of the holoscreens back to where she started, expecting to have to do everything over again.

After a few minutes, Url finished his review of the footage. "Yep this is the money shot, it'd be hard to improve on it." He then realized something. "But as perfect as this is, the boss is gonna flip if we only have one take to show him. Let's do a second just to be safe."

The crew nodded in reluctant agreement and went back to their positions.

_Here we go again._ Melia placed herself where she needed to be. _At least I should be able to simply repeat myself instead of having to come up with something from scratch again._

The second take went just as smoothly as the first, though it inevitably ended up slightly different - while Melia played her part more confidently, the other actors' reactions to her appearance were not quite as genuine.

Once he was finished looking over both takes, Url was satisfied. "Alright people, that's a wrap." He turned to Melia. "Lady Melia, your performance was impeccable. Once again, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to make this vision a reality."

"You, er..." Melia noticed that, now that their jobs were finished, the entire crew and actors were gathering around her to try and get a handshake or similar. "You are welcome."

From there, she had to wait for everyone to greet her one by one, thanking her individually and excited to have now met both the prince and the princess. By the time everyone had done so, the room's temperature was back to normal levels, having vented all of the excess heat into the air outside.

"We shall send you the final version of the spot for your approval before we air it," Url said. "Once again, thank you."

Melia nodded and figured it was time to leave. She turned to the exit, where Aizel had been standing motionless the entire time.

_That was not all that bad, all things considered. I'm not sure if I'd ever want to do similar again - this was perhaps the simplest acting could possibly be, and it was still quite nerve-wracking. I suppose it depends on the public reaction...I don't expect much positive feedback.  
_

* * *

At it turned out, the public reaction to Melia appearing in an advertisement was indeed surprisingly positive. When the commercial first aired at the beginning of June, mixed in with the more common Kallian version, she found herself reading several letters from surprised citizens that ranged from "Oh, so you're coming out of your shell a bit?" to "I didn't realize you were capable of having fun!" to even "So you're actually a real person?". As the months advanced and the two variations of the ad became equally common, the sentiment began to turn from "I'm surprised" to "you should do this more often".

She expected that the reaction from the rest of the imperial family would be moderately enthused at best, but this was also incorrect. While Yumea was predictably dismissive of the whole thing, Sorean seemed extremely impressed that the princess had finally stepped out into the real world to assist others of her own free will, and Kallian had a foolish grin on his face for the rest of the day the first time the commercial aired.

Other marketers picked up on the princess's unexpected entry into media and began throwing their hats into the ring for her approval; by the end of August she had received requests to promote what seemed like half the products sold in Alcamoth. She rejected the vast majority of them immediately - she felt like it wasn't a royal's place to choose favourites in the commercial sector. She did however pick out a few that piqued her interest - a bookstore, a tennis club, and a bank - and replied that she may be willing to work with them in the future, if they were to create a more concrete idea than just "we're thinking of something, want to participate?". No response was provided from any of them. She suspected they just wanted to get her endorsement before their competitors did, without actually having anything planned yet.

Overall, being part of a successful marketing campaign seemed to do quite a bit for her public reputation. While on an anonymous excursion in September, about two weeks after the ad's run, she could feel that hating on the princess was no longer the cool thing to do in public. It was much more lasting an effect than any of her one-off accomplishments were. In fact, she started becoming legitimately curious as to how it would feel to simply don her mask and walk amongst the people.

So, one day in the middle of October, Melia finally stepped through the palace's main entrance with Damil in tow and began traversing Alcamoth with the goal of simply buying a book.

It could not have been a more different experience than being undercover as a citizen. While anonymous, she would constantly feel like she was being silently belittled or threatened by most people for her half-blood nature, squished under a constant judging gaze and being given a minimal amount of respect at best. But now that it was no longer acceptable to rag on the princess in public, she didn't know what to do with the comparatively immense amount of respect and admiration being thrown towards her. People no longer got out of her way simply out of obligation, the hushed conversations that sprung up in her wake were more awed than haughty, and she had to almost force the clerk at the bookstore to take her money instead of just letting her walk away without paying.

Once it was all over and she returned to her chambers, she felt conflicted. The sensation of being respected and appreciated was almost addicting, but also alien and quite uncomfortable. The paranoid part of her mind was also telling her this was all just a front, that people still disliked her just as much behind closed doors - but if so, did it really matter? It wasn't exactly her job to be popular, anyway, it was to be a reasonable backup for Kallian...but it would still be nice, right?

Eventually she came to the conclusion that she should begin getting used to this new method of public interaction, starting infrequently and building up to "I'll go outside whenever I feel like it", just like Kallian would. Hopefully, the public reaction would simmer down a bit once they got used to her being amongst them - still respectful, but not out of surprise.

* * *

**_COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION_ **

_29 March Sorean 16  
_

_Evaluator: Keldon, James_

_PERSONAL INFORMATION_

_Name: Antiqua, Melia  
_

_Gender: F_

_Race: High Entia father, Homs mother_

_D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 84)_

_Height: 156cm_

_Weight: 47.6kg_

_Specialization: Ether staff_

_STATISTICS_

_Note: Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale._

_Physical Strength: **83** Improvement is slow but steady.  
_

_Ether Attunation: **182** There is not much more that can be said on Melia's most outstanding attribute.  
_

_Agility: **37** Of note here is that Melia seems to perform equally well regardless of her style of footwear (i.e. flat heels versus high heels), which is certainly an advantage for someone in her position.  
_

_Resilience: **1055** Melia has finally reached the thousands plateau in this statistic, which is somewhat of a relief._ _  
_

_Overall Combat Level: **13** Likely as a result of her experience with the unique Hiln a year ago, Melia's overall progess over the past year has taken somewhat of a leap forward.  
_

_ARTS_

_Elemental Discharge: **A+** Burst aura now activates after between 10 and 13 discharges. It appears that when Melia is discharging dissimilar elementals in quick succession, she bursts faster, a fascinating curiosity.  
_

_Summon Bolt: **A+** Summoning time is a constant 1 second._

_Summon Flare: **A+** Summoning time is a constant 1 second._

_Summon Aqua: **A+** Summoning time is a constant 1 second._

_Summon Wind: **A** Summoning time varies between 3 and 4 seconds._

_Summon Earth: **A-** Summoning time varies between 5 and 8 seconds.  
_

_Burst End: **A** The defensive drop of this art now measures approximately 8% for physical attacks and 15% for ether attacks, and leaves about 7 discharges worth of burst aura left over.  
_

_Hypnotise: **A** Casting time varies between 3 to 4 seconds, and is always successful.  
_

_Shadow Stitch: **A** Casting time is a constant 2 seconds and ensnares targets for a total of 15 seconds.  
_

_Healing Gift: **A** Casting time is a constant 3 seconds, with a perfectly consistent amount of vitality extraction.  
_

_Reflection: **A+** Casting time is almost instant and produces a total of twelve panels, tying a mythical record._

_Power Effect: **B** Casting time is a constant 3 seconds and produces 10 seconds of effect followed by 70 seconds of recharge._

_Spear Break: **F** No further comment.  
_

_Overall Arts Grade: **A-** Melia is well on her way to passing this program with straight A's in every ether art; even the single blemish on her record cannot drag her grade below top honours.  
_

_MOCK BATTLE ANALYSIS_

_Melia's ability to strategize and synergize with her teammates remains a bit below par, but her flawless execution more than makes up for it. She has yet to find an opportunity to activate a chain attack._

* * *

April began with stormy weather and a pleasant surprise.

"It is time for you to learn the sixth and final elemental - ice."

Melia was excited to finally have the full complement of elementals at her disposal, and awaited the explanation.

Reddel continued. "Like that of earth, the ice elemental is solid and defensive, though against ether attacks instead of physical ones. I forsee you having little issue with summoning it - it is much like an earth elemental, only much colder, and with a hint of water as well."

Melia began the process immediately, mentally combining the safe and sound feeling of earth with the still-vivid memory of the frigid healing device on her arm. It was a bit of a trial-and-error process; a few times she had to adjust the comparative strength of the two feelings when she felt she was getting too close to just summoning an earth. After about two and a half minutes, a lump of ice appeared in her staff.

She began mentally removing it from the staff to hang it over her head in success, but something was immediately amiss - it moved incredibly slowly, at less than a tenth of the speed of her other elementals. She strained her mind and still couldn't get it to move any faster.

"How come...wait." She interrupted her own question, searched a few memories, and almost immediately came to the correct answer. "Of course, how could I forget. Due to its extreme cold, ice elementals are equally extremely difficult to reposition." It was a peculiarity that was immediately apparent to anyone who had ever seen an ice elemental, yet it had completely slipped her mind.

"Indeed," Reddel nodded. "Practice will help, but only to a point; ice elementals cannot move faster than a fifth of the speed of other elementals once they are removed from the staff. As a result, it is futile to attempt discharging them directly at enemies; anything that can perceive danger will be able to avoid it with minimal effort. Instead, you must discharge it around yourself, producing a wave of cold energy that damages anything too close."

Melia followed the logic but didn't like the implications: she would certainly have to put herself at risk when learning to burst the ice around herself without causing any self-damage.

Reddel seemed to have anticipated her thoughts. "As you might imagine, this makes it dangerous to practice if you have yet to master the technique. So, to start with, you should discharge the ice at a safe distance. Learn to position the blindspot of the elemental directly downards, which should be apparent when successful by a ring of crystals forming on the ground instead of a solid disc."

She looked up at the elemental's spinning form; the shard had a completely irregular shape. "How do I know where the blindspot is?"

"It is generally the face that is flattest and closest to the centre of mass. Of course, as every specimen is unique, it is going to take quite some time to get a feel for where this is for each one. But once you get it, it'll be very difficult to forget. Like riding a bike."

Melia was never allowed to even touch a bicycle, but she did understand the phrase. She started the process of moving her ice elemental away, watching as it tumbled and trundled through the air. Once she felt it was over twice the safe distance away, she spun it so that it seemed upright and commanded it to detonate. Shards of ice flew in every direction as a wave of crystals erupted from the floor, forming the shape of a crescent moon - the blindspot was off to a side instead of perfectly centred.

"Not bad," Reddel commented. "Incidentally, your small frame is quite the advantage when it comes to ice discharging; it increases the available margin for error."

She started the process of summoning a new elemental. Her next question was why ices had a blindspot in the first place, but she dimly recalled seeing something about it in a book somewhere - something to do with their irregular shape. She decided to go back and look it up again later.

Over the next hour of training, Melia discharged just over two dozen ice elementals, with varying degrees of blindspot accuracy - she never quite reached a perfect doughnut shape, but the very centre was always a safe zone. She could tell it might be a couple of months before she'd even think of placing herself inside. But that being said, she was still considering ways to utilize ices in battle, such as positioning them as traps to control enemies' movements. It wouldn't be all that effective, but would certainly be unexpected.

As she was about to leave, she realized she had a question. "Mr. Reddel? Once I have mastered the summoning of ice elementals, what comes next?"

"Ah yes, we're nearing the end, aren't we," he nodded. "Well, this is the final mandatory art of your program; the only other art left to learn is optional. While I am sure you are up to the challenge, now is not the time to come to a decision on it."

"Very well. I look forward to it."


	19. Collapse

The annual August meteor shower was forecasted to be extremely impressive this year, enough so that some shooting stars might even be visible before sunset. As a result, there was an air of excitement in the Saturday afternoon crowd as Melia wandered through the downtown core, with Hogard trailing close behind her.

Being in public as the princess was no longer a surprise to anyone, having stepped outside with steadily increasing frequency for the better part of a year now. It was annoying to deal with the mask, and irritating to continue to act like a royal instead of a normal person, but it came with an unusually comforting sense of belonging to the community that she didn't think she had ever truly felt before. In fact, she was becoming enough used to it that she was considering giving some of the palace's other guards a chance to accompany her instead of just sticking to her cadre all the time. Maybe eventually her father would drop the requirement altogether.

She couldn't stop herself from overstepping her bounds and helping people, though. She wasn't technically supposed to touch citizens or their belongings aside from handshakes and the like, but dropped money, scattered papers, and kites in trees were just too strong a force to ignore. Her guard of the day would always remind her she was breaking the rules, but in the kind of way that everyone could tell was a mandated response that was not expected to actually be heeded. Besides, Kallian did such all the time too, and no one would think twice about trying to tell him otherwise.

But today, there was no such help to give. Everyone seemed to be gathering supplies for a night of stargazing, like snacks, blankets, and binoculars. Melia didn't need to do anything of the sort - she would just find some palace balcony to watch the spectacle from, higher than almost everyone else. As a result, she had to admit that being in public today was kind of boring.

Aiming to at least feel like she did something new, she decided to peruse a jewelry store. It wasn't like she needed any jewelry - quite the opposite, with an entire drawer stuffed full of massive gems and precious stones that were too flashy and cumbersome to bother with. But maybe she could spot something stately and subdued that would be worth acquiring. It would be nice to have something that could actually be worn without having to carry around what seemed like a ton of metal and chain.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, it was not to be. The instant it was recognized that the princess had entered the store, she had clerks all over her trying to offload their most massive and overdone pieces.

 _This is dumb. What's it take to get something simple around here?_ Ignoring the starstruck clerks, Melia walked right back outside and turned towards the nearest transporter, Hogard trailing along like a duckling. _I'm going back to the palace. Perhaps Brother can source something actually reasonable-_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud shriek. A green man-sized vaguely dragon-shaped bipedal creature was flying downwards, aiming towards the jewelry store she had just stepped out of. Accompanying the beast was a strong ether signature reminiscent of an upset child.

The crowd took notice of the intruder immediately. Cries of "Telethia!" flooded the streets as everyone haphazardly tried to get as far away as possible.

Without a word, Hogard quickly took Melia around the shoulders and started directing her towards the transporter at a pace just above what she was capable of maintaining. It was understandable and justified, given the level of danger present, but still frustrating to be manhandled in such a way.

The average person did not know much about Telethia aside from two major facts. Firstly, they were creatures that lived inside the Bionis, feeding on the raw ether inside and protecting the interiors from intruders; perhaps a bit less often than twice a century, one would accidentally escape into the outside world and begin a confused rampage to find sustenance, which tended to lead them to crystal deposits and populated areas. And secondly, they had the ability to read the minds of other beings, allowing them to avoid the majority of attacks and undermine most tactics. In addition, they had the uncanny ability to slip through Alcamoth's defenses as if invisible, completely undetected by the autonomous turrets and safety fields that easily kept out all other antagonistic beings. The public was warned to, in the event of a Telethia attack, attempt to keep their minds as busy as possible and stick together in large groups while waiting for specialist help to arrive.

As a member of the royal family, Melia had been taught slightly more about the creatures. Various Telethia subspecies existed, with only the smallest and weakest escaping the Bionis as far as records could show; if one of the larger subspecies were ever to show its face(s), it would be a serious problem that only a massive force or the elite of the elite could handle. While the public was told that it was their telepathic abilities that allowed them to fool the unmanned defenses and effortlessly invade the city, the truth was even more unsettling: every kind of ether scanner known to science would read them as High Entia and simply grant them passage, possibly due to the high amount of volatile ether present in their bodies confusing or even spoofing the systems, and despite millenia of research no solution had been found. Perhaps most important to know, their telepathy was based on a permanently-emanating aura, and so could be temporarily shut down if hit by an aura-clearing art - not that this really made deaing with them any easier, as such arts were difficult enough to use effectively when facing normal monsters, let alone one that knows what you are trying to do.

While Melia was being escorted towards the transporter to the palace, she saw that the specialist help was acting quickly. Two Issor ships with five warriors aboard each passed overhead at high speed, ready to surround and eliminate the Telethia. Strictly speaking, the recommended number of fighters to take on a single member of the weakest Telethia subspecies was five, with three being the absolute minimum for the most skilled of experts, but there was no reason to be stingy.

No sooner then the royal pair had completed the transport did Kallian frantically dash into the room, only slowing down upon recognizing the two.

"Ah, Melia and Hogard, good to see you. I do not have to seek you out and advise you to return." He took a deep breath. "There was no trouble with the Telethia?"

Melia shook her head and was about to respond, but Hogard opened his mouth first. "There was not. The Phoenix Telethia appeared very close by, but did not attack us, preferring a nearby stash of gems."

"Very well. A bit of luck to help offset our unluck today." Kallian backed off a bit, allowing the two room to disembark the transporter pad. "The anti-Telethia corps were dispatched as soon as the threat was recognized. Did you see them on your retreat?"

"We did." Melia spoke quickly in an effort to avoid being marginalized in the conversation. "They arrived perhaps twenty seconds after the Telethia."

"Excellent. It is a hidden blessing that it decided to aim for downtown, a mass congregation of people and ether that confused it long enough for the corps to leap into action quickly after it reached the ground."

Melia could tell Kallian was referring to the previous Telethia attack, about seventy-five years ago. She was too young to remember it, but it had occured in one of the lesser suburbs, resulting in a dozen deaths before help could arrive. By comparison, it seemed that this invasion would only result in a few injuries.

With the situation seemingly resolved, she saw no reason to hang around. "Is that all, then?"

"Yes, I suppose it is. All we can do now is wait for the report." Kallian turned to leave and go back to whatever he was doing before. "I shall see you at dinner, Melia."

"You as well." Melia dismissed her guard and headed back to her chambers. An uncomfortable feeling was bubbling in her gut.

Once she got to her room and began pontificating, she gradually nailed down what was so disturbing about what had just happened. Knowing that Telethia attacks were inevitable, she had her own expectations of what such an encounter would be like. It was the Telethia's ether signature that sharply deviated from what was expected: if she had closed her eyes and ears, she would have believed that it was a High Entia child, not a fearsome beast from the Bionis' interior.

_Now it makes complete sense as to why our self-defense systems cannot tell the difference between a Telethia and a person: they are masters of their deceptive craft, able to fool even biological beings' ethersense. It is lucky they seem incapable of visual and aural stealth, as they are dangerous enough as-is._

Unsurprisingly, Melia's train of thought began turning towards what would happen if she had to fight a Telethia herself. As an ether user, she realized she was actually rather well-suited to such a task. Its mind-reading wouldn't have much of an effect on her elementals, as they would hit their mark regardless of whatever evasive maneuvers could be employed. Hypnotise would work in theory, Reflection would operate unhindered, and Burst End had too much range to reasonably avoid without abandoning the battle altogether. Spear Break and Shadow Stitch were really her only two arts that probably wouldn't have much effect in such a fight.

_I still wouldn't want to fight one though. Its telepathy might not be effective at avoiding my attacks, but it would certainly help it land its own attacks by predicting my movements. I am grateful we have experts to handle such things._

* * *

"There you are, Lady Melia. Good as new."

Melia winced as the doctor tapped her shoulder one last time. It didn't hurt nearly as much as when he first popped it back into place and healed the surrounding damage, but it certainly didn't feel as if it was never dislocated to begin with.

"I appreciate your aid." Replacing her overcoat, she sourly stepped out of the hospital wing and towards her room. _That third-floor staircase is a menace. If it injures me one more time, I'll be demanding that Father replace it with conveyors, tradition or not. There's no way I'm the only one who's ever had a problem with it._

She looked out a window at the clock tower. Four-twelve on a Thursday in March. Her father and brother wouldn't be finishing up imperial duties for at least another fifteen minutes or so - they didn't need to know about her recent injury, which while not exactly minor was fully repaired in no time. Besides, Sorean and Yumea would be heading to a dinner party with a mining guild tonight, and didn't need any further distractions.

With no obligations for the rest of the day, and no plans aside from avoiding aggrevating her arm, upon reaching her chambers Melia dealt out a deck of cards and started playing FreeCell. It was probably her favourite solo card game at the moment, striking the right balance of skill and planning versus luck.

After about half an hour, there was a knock at the door. She could tell it was Kallian.

 _Alright, what is this going to be about._ She walked over to the door and opened it.

"Hello, Melia." Kallian looked a bit more...hasty than usual. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I have something to ask of you."

"Yes, what is it?" _Let's see, what will it be this time? Do you need me to go somewhere? Fetch something? Fight something? Wait, maybe this would be an amusing time to slap him, I still haven't done that yet._

"I need you to attend a dinner with me."

 _...what._ "Er, pardon?"

Kallian spoke quickly. "Chief Dunga of the Nopon has made a surprise visit to Alcamoth, two months ahead of schedule. Surely he has pressing matters to discuss with us. But as you know, Father and Mother already have an important dinner obligation of their own tonight. I cannot be the sole representative of the royal family at this event. So I ask that you accompany me."

"Must there be more than one of us present? Surely there is someone of more experience with the Nopon that can be recruited?" Melia figured that might be enough of a rebuttal - trying to have intelligent conversations while eating was something she really couldn't multitask at - but decided to add one more phrase. "Someone more reliable than I?" _That should do it, he knows he can't rely on me for being part of a discussion, when I naturally sit back and-_

"You are the single most reliable person I know."

The complete opposite of the expected reaction captured Melia's full attention.

Kallian continued. "You may be reluctant to commit to something, that much is true. But once the task is set, you never turn back on your word, stall for time, or provide anything less than your full effort, whether the task is agreeable to you or not. There are not nearly enough people of such reliability in this world. That is why I trust you with every fiber of my being."

Melia was highly stunned and incredulous. "E-Even more so than F-Father?"

Kallian was forced to think about it for a moment. "That is a difficult question. There are certainly some matters for which he is currently more reliable and trustworthy. But to be frank, the amout of those matters dwindles by the year. It is inevitable that you will overtake him in all ways." He paused for a moment. "Now, I suggest you dress up a bit. This is not a formal event, but it will require something a bit more refined than daily threads. I must go prepare myself; I shall see you in the third dining hall at six fifteen." He hustled away.

Melia was left standing blankly at the door, still trying to process the nonsensical level of praise that had just been dumped on her. Moving a tiny amount to let the door swing closed, she staggered back to her desk chair and plopped down hard.

She had always known that Kallian held her in strong regard, more so than anyone of the family outside her deceased mother. But to claim that he saw her as more reliable than Sorean? _Hyperbole at best. He is allowing himself to have selective memory of my many failures. To say that I best Father at anything is simply untrue.  
_

 _I suppose I have no choice but to go along with his request. He is correct of course; he cannot meet with the chief of the Nopon alone._ Melia walked into the closet and started paging through some of the more regal offerings. Knowing that the Nopon favoured bold colours and contrasts, she selected a burgandy-accented lavender dress and paired it with a sunset orange cloak, gloves, and shoes. She liked the more formal wear much better than her daily clothes, mostly because it didn't seem like it was trying to advertise her body nearly as much, but it was too cumbersome to wear during most daily activities. She decided to complete the look with her purple tea hat, sitting carefully perched on the desk lamp waiting for a time like this.

 _Would makeup be required for this dinner? Probably not; Nopon do not care for such minute details. They do however care for wing appearances._ She stepped into the bathroom to fluff her feathers up a bit. It was an uncomfortable process, given how sensitive her wings were. If she had to wear her headdress and mask it wouldn't be necessary, but the Nopon chief and his chosen companions were considered trustworthy by the royal texts.

Fully physically prepared and with nothing else to do, Melia began heading to the third dining hall. The palace had four of them: three for major events and one for daily meals, each stationed in a different wing. The third hall was officially called "Aquistan Delight", after one of the imperial family's most elaborate dishes, and sat in the direction of the Bionis' head. It was historically preferred by the various Nopon chieftains for its grand view of Eryth Sea.

Melia got to the hall at five after six. No one else had arrived yet, but the table was already fully set for two royals and four Nopon. She decided to simply wait around.

Kallian arrived exactly at six fifteen, dressed in a powerful shade of blue lined with a sharp yellow. Following behind him were two guards and four Nopon. Melia recognized the bearded purple Dunga, having seen him a few times during his visits every five years, as well as his main aide Kooloo, a large green Nopon with an even larger belt and a backpack full of papers. Behind them was a yellow Nopon with glasses and a vest, followed by a pink one with a flower necklace and a crude weapon on her back.

"Ah, well met to you, Melia!" Dunga spoke in his slightly choppy dialect, seemingly happy to be in Alcamoth. "You look every bit the princess you are."

 _Typical hollow praise._ "Chief Dunga. I hope Frontier Village is doing well."

"Very well, very well indeed." He motioned to the other Nopon. "Now, I must introduce my comrades for today. Kooloo is my secretary. Bodido is my economist. And Dirigi is this year's Heropon, who has done very well to protect us on our journey here."

"Greetings to you all." Melia waited for Kallian to make the next move. She had trouble taking Nopon seriously; despite decades of indoctrination otherwise, their general appearance and mannerisms were so cute and endearing that it was extremely difficult for her to see them as anything more than animated pillow pets. Even now, she had to fight the urge to pick one up and squeeze it.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Kallian led the way into the dining hall, where the food had been brought in over the past few minutes. It didn't seem as perfectly prepared as usual, but having to suddenly cook two feasts at once certainly would be a challenge for the chefs, and it was understandable to direct the more hastily-done dishes to the dinner of lesser importance. Besides, it was still far above Nopon standards.

While his aides unsuccessfully tried to look refined while filling their faces, Dunga started the dialogue immediately. "I must begin with the matter of most importance. The Trapezius Passage is collapsing. We believe it will stop being traversible in the next month."

"Indeed, a most important matter." Kallian came very close to getting butter on his elbow, but avoided it at the last second. "Has anything been attempted to stem the collapse?"

"There is nothing the Nopon can do. Our resources are no match for that amount of stone."

"We can offer our aid, but not without great expense. The public assumes that Nopon can travel the Bionis without need for footpaths, as we often do, simply because you possess functional wings. They are oblivious to your species' true needs and nature. Any project to manipulate the Bionis' natural evolution, whose only benefit the public does not understand, will be met with great ire."

"A most disappointing reality." Dunga reached for his second plate; he was still a Nopon in appetite, but had learned over the years how to eat at High Entia banquets in a respectful manner. "But I am sure you can appreciate that we cannot have the Spinal Spiral be our only way to reach the sea."

"Of course not. We will not leave this room without a plan going forward, I can assure you of that." Kallian made an emphatic gesture and knocked one of his forks off the table, catching it just in time. "But if you would not mind, could we first go over the matters of your regular visits? Then we may afterwards attack the problem with full force."

"That is agreeable."

Dunga took an offered paper from Kooloo and began pursuing his agenda off it, discussing each point with Kallian and his aides. It was the typical diplomatic stuff - the current state of Nopon traders, suspected black markets to be investigated, concerns over racism and respect to foreign Nopon, confirmation that the Mechon continued to not care whatsoever about Frontier Village. Kallian had no issues to raise. Not that the High Entia usually did; it was extremely rare that any such issues could be resolved by seeking help from Nopon outside the city.

Melia simply ate and listened, having nothing of importance to add. Every now and then she'd conceive of a good point to make, but someone else would inevitably raise it themselves before she could get a word in. As she expected, she had nothing to contribute to the event.

Once the desserts came about, discussion finally returned to the Trapezius Passage. Kooloo had provided drawings made by an artist back in Frontier Village of the current situation: half of the narrowest part of the passage was blocked by boulders and rubble, and two thirds of the passage had been thinned in some way. Kallian deduced that the area would have to be completely cleaned out before any sort of retention efforts could be instated, but because the erosion would not stop until the walls were more horizontal than vertical, it would take many years of continuous labour working against the constant rock slides.

"Now for the sake of argument," Kallian continued, "let us consider leaving the rubble to fall until it halts by itself. As the passage fills in, there will naturally be less inclination to continue, and the collapse will end sooner with less destruction - perhaps by a factor of two or three. From there it will be much simpler to shore up the rubble and construct a more secure path. Obviously, the disadvantage of this plan is that the route would be impassable for years while we await its settlement."

Dunga nervously pawed the table. "Whichever option we choose, we cannot avoid several years worth of unsafe passage between our lands."

"It is conceivable for us to position men within the Spinal Spiral in an effort to improve its safety while the Trapezius Passage is inaccessible. But this would be an even stronger drain on resources and public opinion."

The conversation died for a moment while everyone's brows furrowed in thought.

Melia closed her eyes and envisioned the two paths between Makna Forest and Eryth Sea. Trapezius Passage ran across the outside of the Bionis' left shoulder and connected the forest to Bright Shoulder Plateau, from where the sea was close by. The Spinal Spiral was a tunnel that snaked through the Bionis' spinal column and connected everything from its head to its waist, but was constantly overrun by dangerous creatures and occasionally Telethia, and was difficult to traverse in the best of times with its major elevation changes and narrow passages. No effort was ever made to forge a path through Shaded Shoulder Plateau; it wouldn't be too difficult to find a route, but the pseudo-nocturnal beasts that prowled the arid and sunless land were just as much a threat as those in the spinal tunnel.

Looking at the map in her mind, she saw the giant tree of Frontier Village positioned directly in the center of the forest. It was much closer to the sea than any of the adjacent land.

_If only it were possible to build a shortcut from the village through the sea, then-_

"Pardon?" Kallian turned to look at her. "Do you have a thought on the matter, Melia? Something about a shortcut?"

"Er..." Melia didn't realize she was muttering alongside her inner monologue. "I...I was considering how one could construct a direct means of passage between the village and the sea." _Make something up, so it seems I was actually onto something._ "Such as...an aquatic elevator up through the waters." _Oh my goodness, what an atrocious idea, what's wrong with me? There's no possible way-_

"An...an aquatic elevator." Kallian's hand snapped to his chin. "Long-range fluidic transport...yes, of course, a direct connection between any two line-of-sight pools...please excuse me for a moment." He darted out of the room.

"Oh-ho!" Dunga exclaimed. "I am not quite sure what you have suggested, Melia, but Kallian seems very excited about it! And that can only mean good things!"

Melia simply nodded, even more baffled than the chief was. Usually, when she was present in the Audience Chamber and suggested a solution to a problem, she would receive nothing better than "not a bad idea, but here's why it won't work". The few times she got a more positive reaction, her input was quickly revealed as something that everyone else also thought of at about the same time. She had no idea why a completely unfounded and senseless suggestion caused what looked to be a relevation.

After about six minutes, Kallian reappeared, talking to himself with a holoscreen in his hand. "...brilliant piece of engineering, if only Hufuwal saw its potential." Upon sitting down, he held the screen up for all to see. "Eighty years ago, our researchers devised the Hydro Transport Beam, a method of moving personnel and cargo between any two bodies of water within line of sight. It was pitched to the Nopon chief of the time, Chief Hufuwal, as a way to connect Apex Lake with any sea-level shore of Eryth Sea. He was not willing to pay the Nopon share of the cost of installation, which was indeed significant, as he saw no reason to doubt the existing land passages. With little need for the technology ourselves, the idea was shelved. But now that we have been reminded it exists, it is the perfect solution to the current problem, and to be frank may end up being the preferred method of transport."

"Chief Hufuwal, for all his benevolent actions, was too scared of modern Bird People science to appreciate its value." Dunga looked over one of the financial reports that Bodido had presented as part of the prior discussion. "I would gladly provide eighty percent of the cost for this project. The benefits will outweigh the costs by many times, cutting the travel time between our lands by half or more."

"Then we have a deal." Kallian reached out to shake Dunga's hand. "Pending the Emperor's judgement, of course, but I find it unfathomable that he would object to your generous offering of funds. The Trapezius Passage will be left to settle, and we will shore it up afterwards."

"Most excellent." Dunga turned to shake Melia's hand as well. "And you, my dear, while the technology is not yours, it was your intuition that brought us upon it. We shall name the watery transport beam after you."

 _No, don't do that._ Melia had never had anything named after her before, but she had a strong gut feeling that it would be a permanently embarrassing experience. "That is not necessary. I require no credit for this solution."

"Perhaps not necessary. But I am quite partial to the name of Victoria Seabridge. It is rather fitting, is it not?"

Melia's face instantly turned red. No one was supposed to know about any of her three middle names; they were so peripheral to her life that they weren't even necessary to identify her from a legal standpoint, and she would always assert that she simply didn't have any.

Kallian picked up on the tension and killed it. "It is indeed a victory against the random whims of the world."

As the dinner concluded, the last remaining details about the transport beam were ironed out. The top end would connect to Latael Shore, the safest of all the possible sea-level destinations, and a transporter up to Hovering Reef 1 would be built there to match. In the best-case scenario, the project could be completed within three months, though five was more realistic. The undertaking would be initially presented to the public as fully Nopon-sourced with some minor costs, hopefully invalidating any complaints about wasting taxpayer money.

With goodbyes exchanged, the royals walked the Nopon back out of the hall and into the care of the guards, to be led back out of the palace.

Everyone else gone, Kallian couldn't help but pat Melia on the shoulder. "Sometimes, the best opinion is the one untainted by experience and unburdened by expectation. And that is why yours is so reliable, and why I value it so strongly." He departed, presumably preparing to get the jump on Sorean once his dinner was over and inform him of the decisions that had been made at this one.

Melia didn't really know how to respond, but did know one thing. _If Brother says I am reliable, despite my limitless shortcomings, then I must be. And I should keep doing whatever it is I did to create that expectation._

* * *

Upon its completion in August, the Victoria Seabridge instantly became a rousing success. Nopon everywhere were pleased at the much easier travel to and from Frontier Village, and it showed in boosts to commerce and tourism. Even the stoutest Noponophobes had no choice but to admit the new transport mechanism was of benefit to all.

Melia couldn't say she cared all that much. It was intriguing to actually use the system to visit Apex Lake as part of the grand opening and stare up into the sea above while waist-deep in cheering Nopon. But aside from that maiden voyage, it was just a background object to her; one month later, and she'd almost forgotten it was there.

One thing that did change however was an interest in going outside on weekdays, not just weekends. With most people are work or school, the streets were quieter and mostly populated by seniors and young families, the kind of people that she enjoyed helping the most. She was also becoming more efficient at eating with her mask on, which required a drinking straw at all times and thus was always amusing.

This September day, she had decided to grace The Flying Fish with her presence for lunch, a ritzy seafood eatery. Unprepared to have Lady Melia walk through the door and request a seat, the manager clumsily dashed about and nervously stuttered as he placed her and her guard, Levos, at a table. The orders were placed and the food arrived with impressive speed.

Melia hadn't been on an anonymous excursion recently. It was a nice change of pace every now and then, being able to act outside the stuffy confines of her status. But ever since her royal popularity started to climb and stay without collapsing again, the comparative lack of respect for her citizen persona started to grow huge in contrast. Why should she tolerate getting reluctant-at-best service, or sloppy food at restaurants, when she could walk in as the princess and all but _demand_ they do it right? She looked over the steaming meal in front of her and could just tell that if she were presented as a citizen, it would be much smaller, more tossed about, and twice as slow.

She hadn't used the Chozo interface in a while, either. Being able to teleport anywhere at will just didn't hold the same interest as it used to now that she had no real reason to do so, and the risk of being discovered seemed even greater than before. Besides, she now possessed a travel pouch as Kallian suggested, a tiny purple bag currently stashed under the back of her collar, where the remote to the Illustrious Alighting was stored. If she needed to return to the palace in an emergency, it would be a much safer method of transport.

Levos's meal had arrived slightly before Melia's, though this made sense as there was less of it. While he was almost 140, he was one of the newer palace guards, having joined a mere ten years ago; Melia was working down the ranks ensuring that everyone got a chance to take her outside. He initially seemed nervous about the prospect, but after he suggested The Flying Fish as a lunch target and Melia accepted, he looked much more at ease.

Once the meal was over, Melia had to figuratively shove her money into the manager's hands; at this point, she was used to people and establishments willing to let her have goods and services for free, but this was of course unacceptable.

Now outside with a perfectly full belly, she felt obligated to commend Levos's suggestion. _He's never really dealt with me before; he needs to be praised for his efforts._ "That was indeed quite a scrumptious meal, Levos. Thank you for your suggestion."

"Oh! Th-thank you, L-Lady Melia." The nervousness returned. "It...it was not a difficult choice, one of my old friends works there." He spoke quickly, as if he was unsure how much conversation he was allowed to have with the princess.

Melia nodded. "I see." She didn't think she needed to go on; he seemed uncomfortable enough that further talk wouldn't be a good idea.

The pair turned back towards the transporter to the palace; she felt full and satisfied enough that she didn't really want to do anything else outside. In fact, after a few steps, she decided that the next course of action would be to have a nap.

It didn't take long for her body to agree with this sentiment; she noticed that it was becoming somewhat difficult to lift her feet.

Actually, it was becomming _very_ difficult to lift her feet. And to keep her torso upright.

 _Something's wrong._ She jolted upwards as some adrenaline kicked in. _I'm tired out of nowhere. That's not supposed to happen right after eating._

Her toe clipped into a seam in the sidewalk, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Lady Melia? Are you alright?" Levos leaned over her as several onlookers gasped.

"...no. No, I am not alright." Melia leaped up and began clumsily running towards the distant transporter, forming a guess at what was going on. _Something was in the food, something to put me to sleep. I have to get-_

She tripped on something else that she couldn't see, probably another seam, but remained upright with no speed. She extended her staff and started lumbering along with a three-legged gait, desperately trying to reach the transporter while she still could. The public cleared a path but didn't dare help, deferring their judgement to the palace guard following along - even though said guard was quite suspiciously not helping.

Still quite far from her destination, adrenaline lost to tiredness and Melia collapsed onto the ground again, unable to even crawl.

"It's alright, Lady Melia." Levos bent down to pick her up and started carrying her in the opposite direction. "Do not worry, citizens. The situation is under control, I know what to do."

Everything started to go dark and silent. Incapable of movement, Melia could only compile one more thought.

_...traitor..._


	20. Asperity

_The world was all dark and fuzzy, as if it was already nighttime and a thick fog had rolled in. Even the things that could be recognized didn't look familiar - that building was out of place, and there wasn't supposed to be an intersection here._

_Her legs not wanting to co-operate, Melia stumbled around trying to keep her balance, trying to find a way out. She had the distinct feeling this was how the world looked to drunk people, though they could probably at least see colour._

_After what felt like a few minutes of fumbling about, she finally fell over and couldn't get herself back up. Everything was spinning as well as fuzzy now. She couldn't remember what she was trying to do, but whatever it was certainly couldn't be done in this state. She figured she might as well try going to sleep._

* * *

Melia slowly woke up, groggy all over. Unable to recall what had just happened, she tried to get up from her sitting position, only to find that she was stuck somehow and couldn't do more than wiggle around.

After a few seconds of clumsily unsticking her eyes, she stared out through her mask to find she looked to be in a basement-level storage room. A pair of lights on the ceiling illuminated the place, revealing several boxes of various materials strewn about. Directly in front of her was the only door, currently closed, and next to a table on which sat several televisions and her Protect Staff. She was confused for a moment over how her staff had left her side - it was supposed to be impossible to forcibly remove it from her grasp. Considering the matter more, she reasoned that she probably had to be conscious for the bond to be active, a disappointing yet likely inevitable fact.

She made to try and grab her staff, but was still unable to move. Finally looking down at herself, she noted that she was sitting in quite a nice chair - mahogany, fancy armrests, comfortable red padding. The problem was that the full length of her forearms and shins were chained to the chair, in addition to a chain around her midsection, all secured with five comically large locks.

 _...well this is a fine quandry._ Melia tried to hop the chair, but had zero success. She tried to look behind herself, but her mask destroyed her peripheral vision. She took a few deep breaths.

_Okay. Remain calm, panicking will not help. What is the situation? I have been restrained in an unknown building for unknown purpose by that traitor of a guard. What could the purpose be? The immediate one that comes to mind is for ransom, to extort something out of Father. Father is no fool, he will not give in to anyone's demands that easily. He will demand proof that it is indeed me, and not some impostor, and even then delay for as long as he can. While he stalls, or perhaps even before then, Brother will certainly be searching for me. He has an uncanny sense for knowing where I am. I very much doubt that the traitor, or whoever paid him to do this, would risk injuring me as a threat, at least not to begin with. Therefore, I do not believe I am in much real danger as of this moment._

_That being said, I should prepare for the worst. Let us assume that the next person to come in here intends to injure me for no reason. If I can take command of my staff, I should be able to hold him off, if not incapacitate him entirely, even if I remain unable to move._

Melia opened her right hand and started willing her staff to come towards her. She wasn't really sure if she expected it to work - she'd never tried similar before, and she was only told that it couldn't leave her possession against her will, nothing about being able to summon it into her possession. But it was most certainly worth an attempt.

Initially, there was no result. But after half a minute of intense concentration, the staff began to stir, inching across the surface of the table in tiny increments.

_If I can manipulate it at this range, it can only become easier as it gets closer._

Continuting to focus, she kept mentally pulling her staff closer and closer. Eventually, it fell off the table with a loud clatter, and just like she intuited, its movements became smoother and quicker at it approached. Upon getting close enough to bump her foot, it left the ground and soared up into her open hand.

 _Got it._ Melia grasped her staff and immediately summoned a bolt, before deciding to prepare further and summon two more.

_I may be armed, but I am still a defenceless target. It would not be wise to simply attack the first person to come in here, but instead to bide my time, and only attack once I see an opening. To that end, I need to hide both my staff and my elementals._

It was easy enough to direct the three bolts to hide near the lights, their purple glow drowned out by the bright whiteness. Hiding her staff was a tougher challenge, but not too difficult. Letting go of it and keeping a constant focus, she directed it to crawl up her arm and behind her back, before compacting it and dropping it between her back and the chair's back.

_There. Hidden from view, yet still in contact with my body. I wonder if I can summon something if it's against my back rather than in my hands...this is not the best time to try it._

_Now, what next? There's nothing more I can do to prepare except plan. My immediate objective is to free myself. To do that, I need to get ahold of the keys. It stands to reason that I should avoid launching my offensive until I can identify the jailkeeper, unless something of more urgent need occurs, in order to avoid tipping off that I am capable of retaliation. It matters less if I can eliminate anyone who comes in without them raising any alarms, but even then, eventually someone will wise up._

_Perhaps I can mentally probe the immediate surroundings to get a feel for the area._ Melia started trying to sense nearby sentient ether signatures. It quickly became apparent that the surrounding rooms were almost vacant, with just two people that she could sense. As she continued to blindly scan about, she deduced that she was in the second basement floor, with the ground level floor and above being reasonably populated. But just as she came to this determination, she felt a small group of people split off from the bustle and begin descending, quickly becoming level with her.

 _That feels like...a group of...two or three? Three. Men. With intent to...intent to do...do...something._ She regretted not bothering to spend much time honing her ethersense, and decided to start putting some effort into it once she got out of this situation.

Melia's thought process was interrupted by a loud click, followed by the door swinging open and three large men walking in, each wearing rather crisp suits. It did not take long for her to recognize them: Brent, Dev, and Charles, the three bullies she met several years ago.

_So, those mindless goons have gotten a job with whatever immoral scum has captured me? I can't say I'm too surprised. It's not like they have the talent or smarts to get employed anywhere respectable. Though they are rather sharply dressed, which indicates this is a highly monetized and organized criminal operation._

"Well?" Charles bent to his knees and tried staring into the blackness of Melia's mask. "You awake yet, princess?"

Melia didn't move. _No, not at all. Please continue to run your mouth and spill some useful information._

"Eh who cares." Brent had some sort of camera attached to his right shoulder, which was autonomously turning to follow his gaze. "Don't need her to be. Let's get on with it."

Charles turned on the televisions on the table and set each of them to a different channel while Dev stood in front of the clearest wall, some papers in his hands. Brent positioned himself in front of Dev so that the camera had his top half in view.

_It looks like they're about to record a ransom video. Should I comply with anything they tell me to do, or inconvenience them as much as possible?_

Brent pressed what was presumably the "record" button on the camera. The televisions on the table started losing reception, and before long, they all started displaying Dev's smug face.

_Oh I see, they've hacked into the broadcasting system and are presenting it live to the entire city. That would require some major wrangling; this has to be an elite-level illegal corporation or such._

"Good afternoon, people of Alcamoth," Dev's oily voice began. "I'm _so_ sorry to interrupt whatever you were just watching, but you see, we needed to find _some_ way of contacting the Emperor, while at the same time informing everyone about what has just transpired." He held out his arm towards Melia, directing Brent to turn the camera towards her. "You see, the Diamonts Syndicate is holding your princess for ransom."

_So it's Diamonts, the biggest protection racket in the city. That means this building, whatever and wherever it is, is probably their headquarters._

"Now, I don't plan on holding you from your regularly scheduled programming for too much longer, citizens. I just need enough time to go over exactly what we want, and what will happen if we don't get it." Dev flipped to the second page of his script and edged back into the camera's view, which was now squarely on Melia. "Our demands are quite simple, and are as follows: One hundred million G in cold hard cash, a heavy cargo ship, and the palace's entire stock of fire ether crystals. You know how to contact us."

Melia had a pretty good idea what the syndicate was planning: mass production of Truth Cloak gems, a rare type of fire gem that allows the user to effectively disguise themselves. For obvious reasons, they were heavily regulated by the authorities, and it would be incredibly damaging for a mafia to be in control of a large supply of them.

"You have one hour to comply with our demands. Failure to do so will result in your little princess...undergoing a host of unpleasant experiences, shall we say." Dev let out a sinister chuckle. "If we hear nothing after an hour, we'll begin to pluck out her feathers, one by one. If we run out of feathers, we'll move to dripping a constant stream of ice-cold water on her head. Should that not elicit a sufficient reaction out of you, after two hours, we'll be force-feeding her some of our special oatmeal, which won't take long to upset her systems and produce a truly embarassing mess. Lastly, if you don't respond in three hours, we'll also start heating up the chains she's got around her limbs. We have plenty more on the list, but I think that's enough to start with."

_So, I have one hour to get out of this predicament, or to wait for rescue. When put like that it honestly doesn't seem that hard, but there's most certainly going to be some trap in the way._

"And finally, I know what you're thinking right now, your Emperorship. You're saying that we have an impostor here, that the real princess is off hiding in the palace somewhere. Well, I think we both know the quickest way to prove we've got the real deal here."

 _Uh-oh. He's going to remove my mask._ Melia quickly started considering whether taking out these goons now and possibly alerting the rest of the syndicate would be worth keeping her anonymity. She once again considered how she kept neglecting to remind herself whether it was decreed mandatory or not.

Luckily, the decision was made pretty easily. As Dev approached her, she could see a keyring sitting in his coat pocket.

"Well, princess," he said softly so it wouldn't be caught on the camera, "looks like your last big secret is toast."

She couldn't help herself from smirking. "As usual, you couldn't be any more wrong," she whispered.

"...what?"

The three bolts soared out of hiding and struck the goons in the back of their heads, knocking them out instantly. The camera on Brent's shoulder fell off and was now staring up at the featureless ceiling.

_That was the easy part. The higher-ups may not know what just happened, but it probably won't take them long to figure it out._

Moving her staff back into her hand, Melia summoned a wind and got to work on using it to pull the keys out of Dev's coat. It took a bit; she was used to moving loose objects through the air, not pull a whole keychain out of someone's pocket. After about thirty seconds, she had the keys in the elemental vortex.

The hardest part came next, as she slowly and carefully tried to manipulate the elemental to get the correct key into her left arm's lock. It was a much finer process than she had ever attemped before, and it took several failed attempts at getting the key into the lock, followed by discovering the key was incorrect and having to start over three times. But eventually, after two minutes, she found success.

"Ha!" She ripped her arm off the chair, sending the chain flying across the room. It took no more than twenty seconds after that to free the rest of herself.

An approaching commotion could be heard in the hallway outside.

 _I have no time to leave this room. I must hide and hope they decide I have already escaped into the building proper._ She located an empty box and dove into it.

The commotion grew quiet as it reached the door. Melia couldn't see what was going on, but could sense that a group had arrived and were surveying the scene.

"Secure the building," a voice said. "No one is getting out of here."

A mass of receding footsteps suggested that everyone had left. Melia waited a few seconds before poking her head out of the box.

"Hey!" Apparently not everyone had left; one person had stayed behind and was about to do something with the idle camera, but noticed Melia's movement.

 _Drat._ Melia fired a bolt at the man, but the damage was done; it wouldn't be long before someone in the building who was watching the broadcast could report her discovery down to the minions chasing her. _Looks like I'll have to fight my way out of here._ She hopped out of the box and prepared to leave the room.

Before she reached the door, an idea popped into her head. _If I were to take this camera along with me, I may be able to broadcast glimpses of the area outside the building through windows and such, even if I ultimately fail to escape, which should expedite any rescue missions. The downside will be giving away my position to the goons, but at this juncture I don't think that matters. They all deserve what's coming to them._

Melia looked down at the camera, then back up at her image being broadcast across all channels, before bending down to pick it up and talking straight into it.

"It is true. I am the real Melia Antiqua. And in the grand scheme of things, I think that's the last thing this hive of villany wants to hear, because anyone who tries to oppose me in my escape from their grasp will be swiftly eliminated." She placed the camera on her right shoulder, where it automatically began following her gaze. _Ten years ago, I'd be scared out of my wits in this situation, cowering in that chair waiting and pleading for help to arrive. Not today. Today, I'm making my own rescue, and if they know what's good for them they'll let me be.  
_

Melia walked out into the hallway and turned to the left, planning to find the stairs and climb up to ground level. A few stragglers were present, but they all ran away.

_They are all scrambling upstairs to mount a defence, perhaps knowing that I can detonate a flare and fill these narrow halls with fire. There must be a more open area ahead._

After considering her strategy, she followed the minions' path up the stairs at the end of the hallway. The stairs ended two flights up, with nothing but a nondescript door at the top.

_This must be the ground floor. Assuming they are following what this camera can see, they know I have arrived - which works out quite well in my favour, as it will make their timing all the more predictable._

Hesitating for a few seconds, Melia leapt through the door and protected herself with Reflection. Several dozen gunshots went off, with many streaks of ether drawing the various bullets' trails across the expansive, open-plan lobby of the building - tracing them directly back to the thirty men who fired them, incapacitating the entire force that had been stationed there.

_I hate to reveal another art that I know, but it's hard to say there could ever be a better situation to save it for._

She looked towards the main entrance, but it was clearly unavailable, a large metal shutter having closed in front of it. She started thinking of what to do next when a voice started speaking over a public address system.

"Well, well, well. I see our guest was a bit _unsatisfied_ with our accomodations." The voice instantly conveyed the image of a mob boss: simultaneously sneering and respectful.

_Just what I needed, an auditory distraction._

"I'm _impressed_ you managed to escape your solitary confinement and survive the lobby surprise. So how's about I cut you a deal. If you can reach me on the fifteenth floor, fighting through my men every step of the way, I'll open up the main entrance for you."

Melia looked back at the entrance. The shutter was solid steel and appeared to be at least five centimetres thick; there was no way she was getting through it. All of the windows had been similarly blocked off by the internal security system; their shutters weren't as thick, but she'd have to bust through the glass as well, which was probably reinforced by itself. The elevator transporters were disabled - the stairs were really her only option.

_I'm not going back into the basement to try and disable the security system myself; by the time I do so, there will be another ambush set up in here, which will be more prepared and far harder to get through._

Pausing to think for a moment, she decided to reply, speaking into the void knowing that the camera on her shoulder would relay it to the boss. "Why should I trust you?"

A chuckling came from the speakers."You _are_ a smart one, aren't you? Yes, of course you would doubt my truthfulness, and nothing I could say would sway your mind. So have some further knowledge of the situation. In sixty seconds, the foyer will be flooded with knockout gas, so if you _don't_ try and make your way up here, you won't be escaping quite so easily as before. On the other hand, if you _do_ accept my challenge, don't expect my men to be too interested in ensuring you survive their efforts to subdue you. Your death would be a very real possibility - and quite a shame, too. So, what's it to be? Accept defeat, or risk your life?"

_Whether he keeps his word or not, I'll still have to get up there and defeat him to access the security controls. And win or lose, I'll still be dealing a major blow to this organization, if I can destroy some choice rooms along the way._

"I accept your challenge."

A sinister laugh. "Very good. I await to see how far you can advance before your endurance wanes."

Melia was already on her way towards the stairs that lead upwards. She planned to climb as high as possible up one column before needing to cross through the floor proper, but the goons had already done their work; she could see as she looked upwards that every other flight of stairs had been cut down, forcing her to traverse across the entire length of the building for every one of the fifteen floors.

_That may be just as well. More time spent running around this building means more time for the authorities to recognize it through this camera, and more time for me to sabotage it._

She climbed up to the first floor and stepped out into the hall with more confidence than she actually felt. Only five minions were visible, none of them armed, but all with more than their fair share of muscles. A single flare set most of them ablaze, and from there it did not take long to pelt them with bolts until they stopped moving.

_I sense the kingpin is amusing himself by sorting his underlings by fighting style, perhaps also using this as an opportunity to dispose of the ones he is most displeased with._

She moved down the now-clear hallway, glancing into the few doors that were open along the way. She hadn't seen a single window yet, and suspected all the windowed rooms were locked. She did however find a room filled with paperwork, and gladly tossed a wind inside to shred it all to pieces.

From there, events fell into a pattern. Melia would climb to the next floor and easily dispose of the goons stationed there, followed by crossing through the hallway without resistance and messing up the occasional open room. The first few floors were a cakewalk: dummies with nothing but their fists, followed by some armed with knives and daggers. Floor 6 was the first potential stumbling block, housing someone with a full-sized sword, but since Melia was still at a distance he was just as easy to take down. Floor 8 also held a quirk in that everyone was cowering behind shields, which she had to remove by using winds to blow them out of their grasp.

The challenge mostly became tougher just in terms of numbers, with the kingpin sending more goons per floor after her, but this was no real issue at all. One particularly full corridor was dealt with by using Burst End, which reflected around the tight confines and set everyone's eardrums ringing, making it quite easy to just slip through and skip attacking anyone. Despite expecting to see brutes armed with ether firearms at some point, none ever appeared; maybe all of them were dispatched on the ground floor earlier.

Only upon reaching floor 14 did Melia meet an enemy that could possibly pose a realistic threat: an ethermaster, prepared with a flare and a bolt. But even then, she had the upper hand: her Reflection deflected his bolt with little issue, while her own bolt blasted straight through his defences to knock him down.

"But...but that's impossible!" he groaned.

Melia scoffed as she dashed over to kick him in the face to stop him from retaliating. She could have responded with some clever quip, but didn't want to waste her time when the last floor was just ahead. She was surprised overall at how flimsy the opposition was - only the biggest and baddest of the foes could take more than two elementals to the head without being knocked out. Sure, they were all unexpectedly pressed into action and wearing no protection, but weren't they still supposed to be tough guy mafia enforcers? Maybe she was grossly underestimating her own offensive abilities. Or maybe most of the underlings in the building today were just paperwork guys.

The fifteenth floor was empty, with a single door. It felt like a trap. Melia very cautiously stepped forward and flung the door open.

It was the don's office. The man himself sat behind a desk, tall and average-width, long and thinning hair tied into a ponytail, probably somewhere around 260 years old, wearing a jet-black suit. Dozens of decorations and trinkets littered the desk and various shelves. A television hung from the back wall, relaying the image from the camera still perched on Melia's shoulder.

The kingpin shook his head. "Now, princess, where are your manners? Have you not learned to knock before entry?"

Melia wasted no time. "Will you keep your word, or will I kill you on the spot?" She didn't agree with her own language - she was pretty sure she had only been knocking people out this whole time, not actually killing them - but knew she had to be forceful.

"Quite the firebrand, aren't we?" He let out an exaggerated sigh. "Yes, very well, I will do what I promised." Moving slowly and deliberately, he stood up and moved to a framed painting on the left wall. He swung it open to reveal a control panel and brought the lever labelled "Lockdown" from the lower to the upper position. "There. Off you go."

Melia could sense something was amiss. _He's not resisting at all. This is too easy. He'd never let me get away scot-free just because I bested a challenge that involved taking out many of his subordinates. Some sort of trap is in store._ She stood her ground, postured as if expecting something else.

The mobster sauntered back into his chair. "Well? I've disabled the lockout and opened up the lobby entrance. You may leave at any time. What more could you want from me?"

"You know very well there is something else preventing me from leaving."

"Quite right. But it is not _my_ doing. _I_ cannot control it." He sneered. "What do you think the natural result would be of utilizing multiple fire-based arts indoors? If you guessed "burn down the building with everyone in it, in a remarkable display of short-sightedness", you would be correct. As we speak, the bottom floors are burning to a husk, eroding the very foundation of the upper floors. You can go ahead and try to leave, but good luck running through several levels of inferno before everything collapses on top of you."

Melia nodded thoughtfully, hiding her panic with calmness. "Yes, indeed. That would be a rather difficult obstacle to overcome. Of course, _you_ find yourself in the very same position, and taking down this building will be a significant setback to your organization, so I'm quite alright with it."

" _Me?_ " The kingpin snorted. " _I_ can just leap out the window and glide down to safety. I'd like to see _you_ try that!"

"Mmm." An idea struck. She slowly reached into her collar, extracted her travel pouch, and started rummaging around in it, apparently looking for something.

"What d'you got in there, then? A parachute? Some sort of magical grappling hook?"

"Oh, nothing." She put it away. "Just checking to see if I had any damns to give." She was very uncomfortable with using even the mildest profanity, but couldn't think of any better word to insert into the phrase.

The mobster snarled. "You've got a lot of nerve for a dead princess. Do you think your dear old father will be okay with you trading your life just to inconvenience us?"

Melia kept up the unafraid attitude, which was becoming easier to believe in by the moment. "Oh, I'm not at all interested in dying today. I'd miss the start-of-autumn feast next weekend. That would be tragic."

The floor jolted a tiny bit, as if the building had lost a minor support and had settled into a different posture. The smell of smoke started to well up from the corridor as well as outside. The television on the back wall cut out, now showing nothing but static.

"Well, it looks like I'll be off then." Melia casually walked over to the window and opened it. The sound of distant fire-suppression craft instantly blared through. "Oh yes, you can have this back. I won't be needing it any longer. It seems to have exhausted its usefulness, anyway." She removed the camera from her shoulder and placed it on the desk.

"And how, pray tell, do you think you'll survive that fifteen-storey drop?" scoffed the kingpin.

"Fifteen? No, I don't think I'll be doing that. About half a storey should suffice." With that, she hopped out the window.

And landed squarely on the Illustrious Alighting, summoned from the palace with her remote, hovering just under the window. She retrieved the remote again and pressed the "return" button. The craft spun towards the palace and began to move.

There was an anguished scream. The mob boss was about to launch himself out the window, attempting to leap onto the ship before it could leave.

"Have a nice fall." Melia fired a bolt at the kingpin's left wing, blasting off all its feathers and staggering him enough that he couldn't make the jump. With only half the necessary lift to glide safely, he plummeted to the ground as the building collapsed behind him. Now that she was outside, she recognized the place. It was an essentially nondescript office building placed in a loose-knit commercial zone; its collapse would not cause notable damage to any of the surrounding structures.

 _That went well._ She settled into the passenger chair as the ship accelerated to cruising speed. _Diamonts is going to have their work cut out recovering from that._

As the adrenaline faded during the trip back to the palace, Melia's thoughts turned from reliving the action to considering the consequences. Levos the traitor would have to be disposed of immediately, if he were ever to show his face again. There would certainly be an inquiry as to what exactly his timeline and motivations were, and she saw a very real possibility that this would lead to the end of her being allowed outside the palace for the forseeable future; either that or restricted to being escorted by only the most trustworthy guards. She should have been doing in that in the first place to be honest, there was absolutely no reason to allow inexperienced guards to travel alongside her. The real question to her was how exactly the sleep-inflicting food was produced; was it the restaurant or a single employee? Probably the one person who Levos said was a friend that worked there, but if the entire establishment was under control of the mafia, then it could be anyone.

 _I don't feel like thinking about this right now. I want to get back the palace immediately._ Melia stood up and walked to the display console at the front of her craft. She quickly scanned the touchscreen to find a control for "Auto-Piloting Speed", proceeding to drag it to its maximum. The city immediately vanished as the Illustrious Alighting pulled into its designated spot in the palace hangar within seconds.

To her surprise, the hangar was empty, with no one awaiting her return. It took her a moment to realize that this made complete sense; the broadcast had cut out before her escape from the top floor, so of course no one was expecting her arrival. She figured she might as well head to the Audience Chamber, where the royal family certainly was.

The palace was deserted. Every hall she traversed and every room she saw was completely void of people. It was spooky, but the explanation was pretty obvious: all the guards were probably called in to support the rescue mission, and everyone else was likely huddled in rooms with televisions watching the spectacle unfold. Still, with nothing more to watch, shouldn't there be at least a few people starting to filter out and around?

 _It seems that my immiment appearance will be a surprise to all. I expect relief to be the primary reaction, followed by interrogation and subsequently scolding._ She reached the Audience Chamber's front entrance.

The chamber was like a war room. What looked to be the entire elite corps was present on the left side, formed up and waiting for orders. The right side was replete with the brass of law enforcement, in discussion with Kallian, Captain Denzel, and the squadron heads. In the centre of the aisle sat a hastily-concocted cluster of four televisions assembled in a square, all showing the same pattern of static. Sorean was pacing nervously across the back of the room, while Yumea was seated in a satellite throne, their expressions indeterminate at a distance. Dozens of other people were present for no immediately-recognizable reason. There was too much chatter to understand anything.

Melia expected that some random guard would be the first to notice her, proceeding to raise a bunch of confusion by voicing so, and that it might take a few minutes if she didn't do something to draw attention first. But pretty much the instant she had the thought, the more predictable happened.

"MELIA!" Kallian's voice shot up in pitch from the Doppler effect as he blasted through the crowd, obliterating an unoccupied chair in his path. He came to a stop with his hands on her shoulders, as if testing to see if she was indeed real.

 _Oh brother._ With the combination of her headdress, mask, and Kallian's body, her view was now pretty much fully obstructed. But given the sudden silence, she could sense that everyone in the room had turned their way. _Could you maybe have not done that in such an embarassing way?_ She didn't get the chance to figure out how that could have been done before he interrupted her again.

"Melia, you are a flame amongst embers, a paragon of justice in a field of darkness. Do not undersell yourself or your feats, as they will be remembered in history forever."

Sorean arrived from the other end of the hall. The look on his face was an odd combination of strained and relieved; he almost looked like was desperate to hug her, but was forbidden to do so. He also seemed to be at a loss for words, given that he didn't say anything after a few seconds.

After a few moments of eerie silence, the police chiefs began receiving something in their earpieces.

"Beg pardon, Your Majesty," the Commissioner said, "but reports are coming in of a collapsed office building in the Sellior District."

Melia decided to interject. "That's it, that's the building I have returned from."

The Commissioner nodded and motioned for the rest of the cops to come along; it didn't take long for all of them to hustle away. Everyone else in the room started effusing away, making a point to give Melia their admiration and congratulations as they passed. After a few minutes, only the on-duty guards remained.

Now with enough time to think, Captain Denzel spoke to Melia. "Levos has made himself scarce; we are already on the hunt. You need not concern yourself with him any longer."

Now with headdress removed, Melia couldn't help asking the unpleasant question. "How many more traitors do you think are within our ranks?"

To her surprise, Denzel chuckled. "Lady Melia, after today's demonstration of your abilities, I don't believe you will have any further trouble with traitors." He motioned to Sorean and left.

Confused, Melia turned to Kallian. "What's that supposed to mean? Why would my ether skills have anything to do with-"

Kallian held up his hand. "Tell me, sister, do you believe it better to be respected, or to be feared?"

"...er..." It was a really weird question that didn't seem to have much relevance, but she figured she might as well indulge; philosophical discussion could be a coping mechanism for the day's events or something. "...They are both sentiments that must be continuously renewed for best effect. Fear is easier to earn and quite immediately effective, but respect is much more lasting - yet one cannot use fear as a holdover before respect is gained. In that sense, if the goal is to have one or the other for all people, it makes the most sense to attempt respect first, and resort to fear if necessary."

"Exactly. And that is why your success at today's unexpected trial is so complete. It has taken you many years to develop the respect of the people. But our enemies were not so impressed. They continued to doggedly pursue you, assuming you were easy prey, that you were all facade and no substance, that you were nothing without your protectors. Today, that perception has been destroyed - you are indeed capable of defending yourself, to a degree that has never been seen before. Almost certainly, they now fear you, fear what they did not know you were capable of." He paused for a moment, presumably for dramatic effect, but after a few seconds he turned sheepish. "I was going somewhere with that, but I lost my train of thought. No matter. My point is simple - what you demonstrated during your escape from today's hopeless situation will ensure that no one will be coming after you for quite some time. Go ahead and enjoy life for a while."

Kallian turned towards the back of the chamber, presumably to step into the back room and continue whatever paperwork he was doing earlier.

Sorean finally figured out something to say. "Every word of Kallian's is true, Melia. Your deeds today shall precede you for the rest of your life, striking fear into whatever opponents you may face, be they in battle or in politics. I have no reason to modify your privileges as a result of this incident; there is no need to enact additional measures to protect you when you have so clearly demonstrated you do not need them. In fact, I grant you two weeks of vacation from imperial duties, should you require any physical or mental recovery from today's events. Savour it."

He stood still for a moment, clearly still grappling with the compulsion to break the imperial code and hug his daughter. After a few moments, he resignedly shuffed back to his throne at the other end of the hall, waiting for the inevitable report.

Rather overwhelmed with all the words that had just been dumped on her, Melia glanced over towards Yumea. She didn't seem to have moved much if at all the whole time, just sitting in the satellite throne in her typical haughty posture.

 _I didn't expect that._ She wasn't all that surprised that the chief already knew it was Levos, but the rest of the discussion went in a completely different direction that what she had predicted. For now, she decided to just retreat to her chambers and have a rest.

* * *

_12 September Sorean 17 - THE HIGH ENQUIRY - SPECIAL EDITION_ _\- 2G_

**MELIA DESTROYS MAFIA HQ -** **_Police: Diamonts Syndicate "no longer relevant"_ **

_[Lerd Effer, Enforcement Correspondant]_

_In a shocking display of audacity and fearlessness, Her Highness Melia Antiqua single-handedly brought forth the collapse of the headquarters of the Diamonts Syndicate yesterday afternoon._

_Summarizing the story cannot do it justice. The princess was captured by the mafia to be used as ransom against the imperial family. Refusing to take the cards she was dealt, she freed herself and began weaving a path of destruction through the building, defeating all the criminals within who tried to stop her. Once she arrived at the top, she escaped on a personal vessel, leaving the building to burn and collapse. The entire event, save for the escape at the very end, was broadcast live across the entire city._

_"Frankly, we're stunned," said Commissioner Polm Herzburg. "Our forces were led to believe that the Diamonts headquarters was in a completely different district, and were about to initiate rescue operations when we discovered we'd been had. By the time we got close to the real deal, it was a smouldering pile of rubbish. Lady Melia turned a terrible day into a brilliant coup."_

_Princess Melia was unavailable for comment, but her exploits of the day speak for themselves. The footage transmitted of her crusade through the building display pinpoint efficiency and mastery of ether arts far beyond what anyone believed she was capable of. We asked a selection of people on the street to comment._

_"She summons and casts bolts in the same motion, it's like the legendary Kor himself."_

_"How did she even get out of that chair?! An escape artist, she is. Those tiny wrists and ankles are good for something."_

_"She was running through elementals so fast it looked like she had three at once. Slow-mo'ed the footage and can't prove it either way. I'm bamboozled."_

_"Ruthless. Didn't bat an eye at sentencing a whole building of criminals to death. Let's send her through a jail next, free up some taxes."_

_"Absolutely stunning. It was like the ending of a movie or something. Prince Kallian hasn't done anything all that exciting on film."_

_As of press time, a total of 70 casualties have been confirmed by the authorities, with more expected to be found as the rubble is cleared. The interruption to broadcasting services continued for another hour after the building's collapse.  
_

→ CNT'D PG.02  
→ MELIA, ALWAYS UNDERESTIMATED PG.03  
→ THE RISE AND FALL OF DIAMONTS PG.04  
→ KALLIAN LOSING THRONE POPULARITY? PG.06  
→ THIRD TELETHIA ATTACK IN TEN YEARS PG.07

* * *

Melia fully expected that she would be watched like a hawk for the next little while after the incident, being constantly reminded that people were disappointed she made such a grave mistake in character judgement. But to her complete bewilderment, she heard absolutely nothing of the sort. In fact, both the palace and the public were talking about it like it was the highlight of her life. It was quite unnerving.

It wasn't as unnerving as the negative feelings that began to sprout in her mind over the next few days. She didn't need to pay attention to the news reports updating the situation, and in fact went out of her way to avoid them so she wouldn't relive the memories - she had basically killed over a hundred people, either by attacking them directly or by dropping a burning office tower on them. It was quite a step up from exterminating a bunch of Bunnits that were due for elimination regardless. Sitting in her chambers stewing over the issue, trying to think of why no one was even questioning her morals, she eventually decided that she had to do something.

Melia pretty much never stepped into the Audience Chamber from the front. If she ever needed to speak to her father, she could do so at dinner without interrupting whatever important discussions and debates were occuring in the super-formal room, and the secretive confines of the advisor's rooms was generally sufficient for anything that he wanted to tell her. But the recent events had been weighing far too heavily on her mind to simply bring up her thoughts at a meal. She felt compelled to express herself in the most serious manner possible.

She had looked up her father's schedule earlier in the day and found a free half hour at one-thirty. Timing her movements so she could just arrive and enter without having to wait around, she slowly walked up the aisle towards the standing throne, grateful that Kallian was not present at the moment to distract her.

She kneeled down in the designated location and spoke in Hightongue. "Your Majesty, I, First Princess Melia Antiqua, come to you with a grim request."

Sorean looked both mildly amused and concerned at the situation; he could not recall Melia ever initiating the formal protocol in such a manner before. "Certainly, my kin. What is it you wish to ask?"

Melia continued to stare at the ground with eyes closed. "I must request that I be released to the authorities so I may serve punishment for the crimes I committed on the twelth of September."

Several of the guards in the chamber gasped audibly before hastily stiffening back into formation.

Sorean tilted his head confusedly. "Crimes? I know of no illegal activity on your part."

 _Oh don't be that way._ "I committed arson and at least 131 acts of manslaughter and murder. I must face the consequences of my actions."

"But surely you do not _want_ to be held accountable for-"

Frustrated, Melia broke the code and looked directly into the emperor's eyes. "Since when has _anything_ been about what _I_ want?"

There was a long pause.

"Leave us." Sorean dismissed the guards with a wave of his hand. All worried-looking, they obeyed, hurrying out of the room and closing the doors. He then converted his throne into the sitting position and materialized a smaller one, positioning it for optimal conversation. "Come, sit."

Stressed but curious, Melia slowly slunk into the smaller chair. Sitting in one of the satellite thrones wasn't new to her, but being in one facing backwards was, meaning that her father would be the only thing in her vision.

Sorean clasped his hands and switched to the Common language. "Tell me, freely and without repercussion, why you believe you must accept punishment for your actions."

"I set a building on fire and killed scores of men. That cannot be excused."

"You did not simply breach the building and set it ablaze, nor did you seek out these men with the express purpose of killing them. You defended yourself from attack and fought to escape your unlawful imprisonment. There is quite a big difference."

"There is no difference. I placed my well-being on a pedestal above that of many others', others with lives and families and dreams. The imperial family is at the mercy of the people, not the other way around. Some form of punishment must be drawn."

Sorean angled his head. "Are you fully aware of what the punishment would be if you were indeed charged for what you claim?"

Melia had looked it up and burned it into her mind. "Arson of an occupied office building during primary shift, 20 years per 50 offices. Involuntary manslaughter, between 50 and 100 years per offence. Second-degree murder, between 100 and 250 years with potential for a lifetime sentence. All told, an approximate mininum of 6780 years, with an earliest date of appeal of 1356 years. As a sentence of 500 years or more, capital punishment would be considered, followed by eternal dishonour of my name." _And likely followed by being trapped in the afterlife indefinitely, unable to ever redeem myself to the point of being worthy to reincarnate._

"Indeed. Such punishment would be quite unkind if it were ever to be applied. So perhaps it would interest you to know that the courts have already officially and unanimously exonerated you in full. You are as free from wrongdoing now as you were before these events occurred."

"That...but..." Melia was becoming somewhat agitated, but was currently succeeding at doing nothing but squirming around. "That's immoral. We can't ignore a crime just because someone important did it."

"You feel guilt and regret over being forced to kill another to save yourself, many times over. That is only natural. But it is not immoral nor selfish to protect your own life from those who seek to end it." He paused for a moment as he considered something. "Tell me, what makes this event different from when you fought off an attacker in the training rooms? You sought no punishment for that."

"It could not be more different. That person had already trespassed our security and attacked bystanders, and in the end I merely held her off without causing serious injury."

"So if that encounter had ended in death for the attacker, what then?"

"Then...then that would have been accidental death as part of self-defence."

"Just as the events of a few days ago?"

"Y-...well...no, as...but..." Spending all her effort to keep her wings stoically stiff, Melia's hands were shaking like they were caught in a paint mixer. She felt like she didn't really know what she was trying to argue anymore.

Sorean leaned forward a bit. "Melia. I am impressed by the degree to which you argue for what you believe to be right, despite such being the worst possible outcome for yourself. Your straightforward and unfaltering honesty is, dare I say, one of your finest traits. But now is not the time for it. Do not dwell on your actions of the past; it will do little but hamper your future." He moved back to his natural sitting position. "If you require counselling to learn to accept your guilt, it will of course be provided. But no punishment will be levied, and nor should any be. In fact, perhaps you ought to remain current with the news surrounding this incident; your calculation assumes that every man you fought was killed, when in fact there were forty-two survivors."

There was silence for a moment. Melia was starting to feel a bit relieved that no punishment was forthcoming, but it still felt so unabashedly _wrong_ to be let off the hook so easily, with absolutely no one other than her conscience trying to claim something had to be done.

"So," Sorean continued, "would you like to take counselling to soothe your doubts and pains? Or do you believe you can move past this incident on your own?"

Melia's immediate instinct was to answer "no"; she didn't want to have to go through this whole explaining-my-entire-mental-state thing more than once, and talking to someone she didn't really know about it didn't seem like it would help at all. But what had her father just said? _"Your straightforward and unfaltering honesty is, dare I say, one of your finest traits."_ And her honesty was telling her that there wasn't much hope of getting out of her current state of mind alone - staying alone was what led her into accepting a life sentence for acting in self-defence.

"...Yes. Yes, I believe I should." It was an all-too common tone of voice - the sullen resignation of doing the right thing despite its undesireability.

"Very well. Go to the hospital wing and ask for Dr. Delphior. He will do what he can to put your mind at ease. I wish you the best of luck, Melia."

Melia nodded, stood up, and turned to leave. She had already assumed that things would get worse before they could get better, so in that sense she was already pretty accepting of what had to be done. She was just hoping it would be over a bit faster than likely several visits to a therapist.


	21. Mind Blast

It took about three weeks for Melia to completely get over the mafia incident, and perhaps another two weeks before she had a day where she didn't think about it at least once. It would still occasionally pop up in nightmares - a depressing sign that her dreamcatcher pretty much could not be functioning correctly, but she couldn't hand it in for repairs without revealing the secretly-obtained rank VII gem - but by and large it was firmly in the past.

The public didn't seem to want to let it go, though. For the first time ever, she heard serious discussion that maybe she was a better choice for the throne than Kallian, using the incident as the final proof. She didn't take any of it seriously; one event should never decide such an important position, and Kallian had already had a lifetime to successfully demonstrate he was the man for the job. There was no need to upset that predetermined decision.

More importantly, in January, Melia reached the point where Reddel considered her ice elementals to be close enough to her other five that the next step was to be taken.

"Congratulations, Melia. You have successfully mastered every one of the ether arts in this program. I now present you with a choice: Do you wish to proceed towards your final evaluation and subsequent graduation, or continue with the most difficult art of your specialization?"

She didn't even hesitate. "I wish to continue with the challenge."

"I knew you would."

Reddel began summoning and discharging elementals. It was clear that he was building up a burst aura for demonstration purposes, meaning that the final art would be a burst art. Once he was readied, he thrust his off hand forward, jettisoning a large cone of cyan ether from his palm.

"Your final art is called Mind Blast." He shook a few drops of ether off his hand. "It can be described quite simply: utilize Burst End, but focus the energy through your palm instead of your staff. Like Burst End, its colour and effect varies between users. In your case, as your Burst End is yellow with a defense-weakening effect, your Mind Blast is likely to be a purely offensive attack. Finally, when executed correctly, the technique not only suppresses its targets' ability to use their own arts, but strips away any lingering auras they may have active."

Melia nodded. Using Burst End and Mind Blast in succession would surely be a devastating combination, dropping enemies' defenses before following up with a powerful ether attack. She started rubbing her palms together, trying to imagine how it would feel to have her body directly generate physical ether.

"Now, you may be wondering what is so difficult about this art, given that it is very similar to one that you have mastered almost from the beginning."

"I would prefer not to know."

"Of course. After all, being unaware of limitations is how you have mastered so many ether arts before now. However, this is an exceptional case that I believe is in your best interest to be forewarned about."

Melia was disturbed by the implication. The only art of hers that ever had an overtly negative effect during learning was Healing Gift, which caused her to faint upon self-extracting too much energy. To be expressly forewarned about Mind Blast's side effects meant the possibilities had to be much worse.

"Very well."

Reddel nodded. "The challenge of the art is that ether of such concentration cannot normally flow freely through the external tissues of the body; you must learn how to make the flesh of your palm transparent to its passage. Until you do so, you may find the ether attempting to force its way out via an easier path. For beginners, the most common result is expulsion of liquid ether through the mouth."

Melia visibly recoiled. It was very rare for her to be sick to her stomach, but it was always an incredibly disgusting experience. And given her propensity for exceeding the beginners' expectations in every way, she figured there were only two ways it could go: either incredible success, or stunningly revolting failure.

"Now, that being said," Reddel continued, "if you can sense when such an expulsion is about to happen, you can attempt to reverse the process in an effort to reduce the pressure. Ideally, you can minimize the negative effects to simply some belching and other outgassing. However, doing so may delay learning the art properly."

Belching wasn't exactly an ideal result either, but it was certainly the preferable one. "I understand."

"Good. Now let's see you have a try at it."

Melia started firing elementals across the room. Once her aura was active, she replaced her staff on her belt so she wouldn't accidentally use it and held up her hand, trying to gather the aura inside it. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened to begin with, but she could sense some internal churning and so kept focusing. After about a minute, she could feel a pressure building up inside her arm.

 _Now that I have enough ether gathered, am I supposed to be changing my palm to allow the ether to pass, or manipulating the ether through the unchanged palm? Or both? I should be able to figure it out if I simply keep pushing._ She continued to raise the pressure, trying to draw all the ether in her body towards a single point in the middle of her palm, and blast it outwards. But all she seemed to be able to do was keep building the pressure, as if someone had stuck a balloon inside her arm and was inflating it to no end. There was no outward sign of it, but she could feel her palm throbbing and warping like an angry swarm of wasps was trapped in a sack.

"Melia?" Reddel called.

"...Uh'm ffhyn." Refusing to open her mouth just in case, she scrumpled up her face in concentration as she continued to push. "Ut's...ghys wyhl wrhk." She tried not to think about how she was now aware of the blood being pumped through all the vessels in her arm. _Something_ was going to give way like it or not, and she had no intention of it being anything other than her palm.

Oddly, the room started to seem a bit brighter, as if someone was slowly upping the dimmer of a golden light source. She closed her eyes, but this only caused the phantom light to strengthen and fill her vision with a strong yellow, so she opened them again. She could feel like something was very close to happening, and kept pushing against the blocked pipe that was her palm, now desperate for the built-up energy to burst forth.

Something trickled out of her nose and down her face.

 _Ewwwww._ It was rare for Melia to acquire a nosebleed; whenever it did happen, it always ruined her day and her clothes before she could react. But she quickly realized that it wasn't blood dripping out of her nose. It was liquid yellow ether. And it was also dripping out of her ears. And her tear ducts. And-

Disgusted and queasy from the unpleasant feeling, her concentration faltered.

All of the pressure she had been building up exploded through the weak point in her mind, forcing a deluge of ether through her entire body. Torrents of the liquified golden substance spewed out of every orifice, sending waves of fluid over the floor, before quickly evaporating into nothingness. It only lasted about three seconds, but it felt like several minutes.

"Are you all right?" Reddel cautiously stepped closer, concerned but not wanting to disturb.

Laying motionless on the floor, trying to forget what had just happened, Melia simply made a slight nod. Whether it was the most revolting thing that could possibly happen was up in the air, but it was certainly the worst she had ever experienced.

Reddel decided to try and lighten the mood. "I must say, your ether carries quite a pleasant smell. Primarily sweet, but with a hint of spice. Quite similar to...of course, the spoils of the Cinnamon Honeybee."

 _You didn't need to tell me that, it presented itself to me quite obviously._ Melia slowly stood up, a bit depleted from ejecting so much ether in a short time. The thought crossed her mind that perhaps learning Mind Blast was not worth the disgusting hassle - after all, she'd been doing well enough in fights without it. But at the same time, mastering it was a challenge waiting to be solved. She couldn't just walk away from it.

"I am ready to try again."

"You should be careful with such rapid repetition. If you expel too much ether within too short a time, you may become deficient."

Melia ignored him somewhat and restarted the process of generating a burst aura, which she kept active without action for a bit to help her feel better. She then began gathering the ether into her arm again. Once she reached the point where her arm felt inflated, before her vision started to go yellow, she started to try and simply blast the existing charge outward without generating any additional pressure.

Several minutes went by. Taking a few seconds every now and then to shuffle the concentrated ether from one hand to another, she couldn't figure out how to open an etheral hole in her palm, nor how to aim the ether around the lattice of skin cells. She tried using a pushing hand motion alongside a sudden pressure spike, but all this did was fire a jet of ether out of her ears. Every exhalation was accompanied by a thick yellow cloud, filling the room with the smell of cinnamon honey.

After a total of twelve minutes spent trying to fire a single charge, Melia felt something start to give way at her wrist. Less than a second after realizing it, the ether burst through, sending a powerful gaseous stream out from the base of her thumb. The force of the expulsion caused her hand to jut sideways and downwards, pulling her down to the ground and forcing her to spin around on the floor as the pressure was uncontrollably released.

Reddel clasped his hands together, deciding that full-on applause was not entirely appropriate. "A valiant try. Certainly, this result holds promise. You will need to, through repetition, learn how you got this result, and subsequently how to manipulate it."

Over the rest of the session's hour, Melia got three more blasts of ether to escape from various locations on her hand and wrist. It felt completely unpredictable at the moment, so she had no way of preparing for the recoil, which resulted in smacking herself in the face on the final attempt. And she still occasionally had ether spurting out of her nose and ears. It certainly didn't seem all that promising to her.

* * *

**_COMBAT TRAINING EVALUATION_ **

_24 March Sorean 18  
_

_Evaluator: Keldon, James_

_PERSONAL INFORMATION_

_Name: Antiqua, Melia  
_

_Gender: F_

_Race: High Entia father, Homs mother_

_D.o.B: 22 February Entirmina 232 (age 86)_

_Height: 156cm_

_Weight: 47.6kg_

_Specialization: Ether staff_

_STATISTICS_

_Note: Each value is scored on the related Eryth Combat Scale._

_Physical Strength: **102** Finally into the triple digits.  
_

_Ether Attunation: **211** Continues to break records with each passing year.  
_

_Agility: **42** Nothing to be noted here.  
_

_Resilience: **1272** Nothing to be noted here._

_Overall Combat Level: **17** A large jump compared to last year, likely due to her experience in escaping the Diamonts headquarters several months ago.  
_

_ARTS_

_Elemental Discharge: **A+** Burst aura now activates after a consistent 10 discharges, though this can drop to as few as 8 with quick dissimilar discharges.  
_

_Summon Bolt: **A+** Summoning time is a constant 1 second._

_Summon Flare: **A+** Summoning time is a constant 1 second._

_Summon Aqua: **A+** Summoning time is a constant 1 second._

_Summon Wind: **A+** Summoning time is a constant 1 second._

_Summon Earth: **A** Summoning time varies between 3 and 4 seconds.  
_

_Summon Ice: **A** Summoning time varies between 5 and 6 seconds.  
_

_Burst End: **A+** The defensive drop of this art now measures approximately 10% for physical attacks and 25% for ether attacks. In addition, it appears that Melia is capable of an unlimited amount of bursts with a single aura, given enough time to recharge the art in the interim. For the record, under normal conditions, one aura can only supply a maximum of two Burst End usages. This is unprecedented behaviour that suggests her burst aura is self-sustaining once it reaches critical mass._

_Mind Blast: **D-** Melia is very much capable of generating sufficient ether to use this art, but she has yet to manipulate it through her palm; all attempts to use the art have at best ended in the attack being launched out of the wrist in an uncontrollable fashion, accompanied by gaseous ether loss out of the nose beforehand. It should be noted that this art has only been practiced for two months, so success was not expected at this time._

_Hypnotise: **A+** Casting time is a constant 1 second and is always successful._

_Shadow Stitch: **A+** Casting time is a constant 1 second and ensnares targets for a total of 15 seconds.  
_

_Healing Gift: **A+** Casting time is a constant 1 second, with a perfectly consistent amount of vitality extraction.  
_

_Reflection: **A+** Casting time is almost instant and produces a total of 12 panels._

_Power Effect: **A** Casting time is a constant 2 seconds and produces 12 seconds of effect followed by 50 seconds of recharge._

_Spear Break: **F** No further comment.  
_

_Overall Arts Grade: **A-** This grade is misleading simply due to having learned a new art a very short time ago; without Mind Blast included, it is a solid A. Whether extra effort should be put forth to solve the mystery of Spear Break is an open question at this time.  
_

_MOCK BATTLE ANALYSIS_

_No further mock battles are planned. Melia has advanced to a point where she cannot be reasonably challenged without her opponents using their full strength against her, which the Emperor does not wish to allow at this time. She finishes her foray into mock battles with a decent understanding of battle teamwork, but with little experience outside a specific set of allies and opponents. She never had the opportunity to practice chain attacks.  
_

* * *

Mind Blast quickly became the bane of Melia's existance. While she had pretty much resigned herself to the fact that Spear Break would never work, Mind Blast felt so close to yet so far from functioning correctly that it was endlessly infuriating to once again spring a leak at the wrist, or the fingernail, or even between the base of the fingers, before anything came out of the palm. The one good sign was that she was slowly managing to stop leaks from anywhere else. By the time July rolled around, her hand was the only place the ether was coming out of.

Today was a rainy day in October. As she often did on Wednesdays, Melia was perusing the imperial library after finishing lunch, finding something to read to pass the time before her weekly training. She was just starting to get a bit bored of reading about the ecology of the Ribbed Cliffside, her most recent focus of interest, and as such was looking to begin something new.

She decided to pick out a section at random by blindly lobbing a quill at a map of the library, leading her to the section on dronautics.

_Drones, robots, androids, theories of artificial intelligence. Yes, this is indeed a fascinating subject that I have not truly investigated before._

Melia carefully scanned the first such shelf and picked out one of the smaller books to start with: _Basic Dronautics_ , by Oppen Bohr. It turned out to focus on the mechanical and electrical side of the subject, describing typical drone parts, functions, materials, and ether cylinders. She quickly fell into "the zone", motoring through the diagrams and procedures at top speed with full comprehension. It was an engrossing read.

A little too engrossing, in fact. Before she knew it, the pages were exhausted and the clock read 2:01.

She stared at the clock for a moment, processing what she was seeing, before haphazardly tumbling off her chair and bolting out of the library as quickly as could be done silently. This was the first day she'd ever been late for her training. She knew in the back of her mind that there probably wouldn't be any consequence for being late once over almost twenty years, but the rest of her brain was in full-on panic mode.

In her haste to enter the training room as quickly as possible, Melia missed a step on the home stretch and tumbled down the last ten stairs to reach the floor.

Reddel, who was leaning against the wall reading a newspaper, couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Well now, someone's in a rush."

 _Can we just get on with it?_ Melia dusted herself off and wordlessly prepared her staff.

"Anxious to make up for lost time, I see." Reddel folded up his newspaper and stashed it away. "I do not need to know why you were late this one time, nor do I expect it to become a habit. Just take it easy and do what you normally do."

Melia took a moment to calm down from her mad dash. Photos and diagrams of dronautic electrical systems remained fresh in her mind; it was difficult to evict them in order to focus on working on Mind Blast.

She began the process as usual, using bolts to charge her burst aura. But something felt subtly off about her summoning - it didn't feel like as much mental effort was needed to make a bolt appear. She could feel that the elementals themselves were more energetic too; her favoured punching bag was being hit to a higher angle with each blast, as if it was taking a stronger impact than last week. Once she fully realized that something seemed to have changed, she put full effort into the next bolt, which knocked the punching bag askew enough to tip the stand slightly.

Reddel also noticed that something was up. "I see that your bolts have gained power since last week. Quite a dramatic change in such a short time. Is there anything in particular you have done to improve them?"

"Not that I am aware of." Melia thought for a moment. What had she done in the past week that could possibly be linked to elementals or electricity? "Though I did...recently engross myself in a book on dronautics."

"Indeed! That very well could be it." Met with a blank stare, Reddel elaborated. "If one is sufficiently enraptured by a subject in just the right fashion, it can bestow them with a flash of inspiration or insight. When correctly focused, this impulse can lead to further pushing the boundaries of what an art is capable of."

"So...I discovered an improved version of an art hidden away in a book?"

"That's one way to put it. If doesn't have to be a book, but if you've always loved to read it would certainly be a reasonable place to find inspiration." He was going to leave it there but considered something. "Of course, if you're intentionally looking for such insight it'll be harder to find. It has to come naturally."

"I see." _Then it would not do me any good to increase how much I read. I simply need to continue reading about a variety of topics._

With the detour of stronger bolts resolved, Melia continued to build up and release her burst aura. From there, she started focusing her inner ether into her arm - which only took about five seconds now - and once again began trying to launch it through her palm.

Several minutes passed. Her arm inflated and her palm throbbing, she kept pushing forwards, occasionally diverting her attention to stop the leaks she could sense were about to spring elsewhere. At one point a few months ago she had considered removing her gloves, but had been told that as long as they were tight against her hands it would make no difference, and even thick and loose gloves would be much less an obstacle than the palm itself.

After a total of twenty minutes holding a single charge in her left arm, Melia decided to diffuse the pressure and stop the current attempt so her mind could take a break. As she waited for a few moments, an idea popped into her head.

 _Perhaps...I am pushing too hard?_ It was a novel concept; all this time she was assuming that maximum pressure was necessary for any result at all, whereas perhaps a particular weaker force would have just the right wavelength to pass through the palm without issue. Given her exceptional ether affinity, she would probably have to push a lot softer to match the hard push the average person might require.

_Of course, I can't push very softly if I have all that ether gathered in my arm at once. Maybe...maybe I need to draw it and expel it simultaneously, in a continuous movement instead of a charge and release, more like a hose than a gun._

Once she was ready, she put her new plan into action. Instead of quickly gathering all the ether she could muster into her arm at once, she started drawing it in very slowly, imagining that her palm was the open end of a hose.

It didn't take long for the new method to find success. After just two minutes, a yellow haze began seeping out of the heart line of her palm. Melia immediately reacted by sending all the rest of the available ether at once, resulting in a messy, inconsistent cloud out of her hand that depleted her entire burst aura.

"Aha!" Reddel exclaimed. "I knew you would find success eventually. Now you simply need to get a more consistent stream."

_Indeed. I need to practice the process of moving internal ether in several different directions at once so that the pressure at the palm remains consistent._

For the remaining half of the session, Melia fired off a dozen Mind Blasts, each one gradually becoming more constant and stable. It was still far from a perfect cone, and its range was barely a meter, but she reached the point where the texture of the ejected ether was more or less homogeneous for the attack's entire duration.

"Amazing." Reddel shook his head in admiration. "I don't know the thought process you've been going through for the better part of last year trying to learn this art, but it's clear that the initial roadblock was the only issue. I fully expect you to have mastered this art in the next three years."

Melia was taken aback. "Three years?" It didn't seem like it would take that long to perfect.

"Indeed. Now that it is functional, you must practice using it to disable targets' arts and auras. It is mostly an automatic process, in the sense that you do not have to put any specific effort into those effects, but it still takes much practice to unlock such potential. After all, as a burst art, your Practice Staff cannot provide assistance with it."

"Then perhaps I ought to find time in the schedules for me to insert additional practice in these facilities."

"I am only available during these training sessions. If it is your wish to make additional time for practice, you must do so on your own."

The two nodded at each other as Melia left, satisfied that she was now on her way to mastering her final art.

* * *

Unfortunately, Melia's request for more time in the training rooms was soundly rejected. With more Telethia attacks on Alcamoth in the past ten years than in the previous hundred, the training rooms were booked to full for the forseeable future. She would continue to check once a month, but no opening was ever present. Once March arrived, she was getting a little uppity about the subject, and planned to bring up at dinner one night that she felt she needed more practice.

However, just as she was analysing the conversation to find a good place to jump in, a messenger stumbled into the room.

"Your Majesty! The Valak Patrol has a special report. Maximum priority."

Sorean did not look pleased at this; it was known that the Mechon were planning an advance through the icy region, and presumably this report was related. "Yes, what is it?"

"An army of Homs is passing through Valak Mountain."

Everyone froze in disbelief. Homs generally did not travel in groups large enough to be called an "army", especially across Valak Mountain.

"How many?" Sorean asked.

"Well over two hundred, perhaps even three hundred, backed by over two dozen mobile artillery units."

"This is a strange move on their part," Kallian considered. "They must know the Mechon are planning an advance and are moving to head them off, but no Homs army of any size could fell half the amount of Mechon stationed at the 5th Gate. They would be lucky to even slow them down."

"It is a sign of desperation," concluded Sorean. "Either they believe that an unexpected attack will be successful, or they have come upon a new technology they believe to be a trump card. But in either case, the risk far outstrips the reward."

Kallian held his head in his palm, oblivious to the fact that his elbow was in his potatoes. "The question is, should we intervene?"

Sorean let out a heavy sigh. "It is a terrible decision. Should the attacking Homs be wiped out, as we expect them to be, they will be left far too weak to defend their colonies against any further attacks. But joining the impending battle would expose our presence to the Homs and Mechon alike, and we are ill-prepared for a fight on land of such magnitude. Is it even possible for us to reach the battleground before the Homs? Where are they at this moment?"

The messenger glanced back at his notes. "The front edge of the force was last spotted at Ignia Hill, at 17:23, advancing at high speed."

"Then we have no hope of catching them before they engage," said Kallian. "Not with any sort of reasonable fighting force, even disregarding preparation time. And if one of our battalions were to appear in the midst of battle without warning, we cannot be certain the Homs will even recognize them as allies and not additional foes."

"Then it cannot be helped. We must leave the Homs to their fate, and hope for the best." It was clear that Sorean considered the matter closed. "You are dismissed."

"Your Majesty." The messenger bowed and scurried away.

The dinner proceeded to its conclusion without further discussion of the Homs, yet one could sense that everyone was still antsy about it. It was the feeling that something very important was going on elsewhere, but the choice had been made to ignore it.

Having had the experience of rescuing a Homs colony from a Mechon invasion, Melia felt particularly anxious about the issue. In the hours following dinner, she simply paced around her room, restlessly thinking about how critical the next little while would be - either they would strike a critical blow to render the Mechon unwilling to fight back, or they would be crushed and have no resistance to further attacks. There was unlikely to be any middle ground - this one battle was almost certainly going to determine the fate of the entire race.

_We cannot interfere; the reasons are disappointing but leigtimate. But I can't just sit here and do nothing with something so important going on. I feel...I feel compelled to at least watch. To observe the battle.  
_

It wouldn't be an easy desire to satisfy; Alcamoth was positioned far too back of the Bionis's head to see Sword Valley, so no matter where she went there would be no visibility. She would have to get far out across the head, way past the edge of the sea.

_I suppose I do have a way to reach such a vantage point._

Melia glanced at the clock to see it was quarter to ten before hurrying out of her chambers and towards the nearest balcony, carrying the remote to the Illustrious Alighting.

_All the mechanics should have finished their work hours ago; there shouldn't be anyone to see it leave._

Arriving on the balcony, she held the remote into the night sky and pressed the summoning button. In less than a minute, her vehicle floated up to her. She jumped on board before realizing the obvious flaw in the plan: she had never piloted it before, and had no idea how to drive.

Standing in thought for a moment, Melia determined that all she really had to do was spin the craft around towards the Mechonis and step on the "forwards" pedal until she got a clear view of Sword Valley. Then, once she was done, she could simply press the return button on the remote and ride the autopilot back.

The plan made, she sat down in the pilot's seat and tried gently turning the wheel, only to find it was locked in place.

 _Oh, right, clearance must be provided._ She placed her hand on the screen, which scanned it and acknowledged royal clearance. The wheel now free, she slowly spun it to the right until the ship started rotating, letting go once it was pointed the right way.

 _Now where are the pedals?_ Melia fumbled her legs around a bit trying to find the speed controls. After taking a look underneath, it became clear that they were too far away for her to reach. _Alright, so how do I move the seat forward? Wait, that might give away my attempt to use it. I suppose I can simply crouch down and press the pedal with my hand. Which one is the forwards pedal?  
_

She put tentative pressure on the right pedal. The vehicle started moving forwards at a snail's pace. Direction confirmed, she pushed it all the way down, which quickly got it up to a paltry twenty kilometres her hour, according to the speedometer.

 _Why is it so slow? Something must not be set right._ Releasing the pedal and looking across the dashboard, she spotted a slider labelled "Spd Mult", which was currently set to minimum. _Ah, a speed multiplier control; a simple way to control whether a full press is cruising speed or manoeuvring speed. I wonder why the autopilot function uses the touchscreen to control speed instead of this._ She pushed the slider up to the maximum and ducked underneath to floor the pedal once more.

Making a high-pitched whine, the engines wound up and blasted the craft forwards at 400 kilometres her hour. Melia could see the number, but it didn't really mean much to her - with the inertial dampeners and debris deflector active, the acceleration and wind were minimal, and all she needed to know was that the palace lights had vanished from view rather quickly.

_Clearly some upgrades have been made to the engines recently; I thought its maximum speed was just above 300.  
_

After just a few minutes, she let go of the pedal and slid back into the pilot's seat, looking around as the automatic brakes brought the ship to a reasonably quick stop. Alcamoth was a pinprick of light in the distance behind her, while the Mechonis's glowing face could now be clearly seen. Sword Valley could be seen just over the dashboard, filled with a mess of tiny sparks. The battle was in full swing.

Melia watched the light show for several minutes. She could see that the Homs had made great headway; they had passed through the 6th, 5th, and 4th Gates, and were currently fighting from what looked to be some sort of ether storage area. It was eerie, watching a battle from so far away that the meaning of the lives being lost was obscured. The compulsion was strong to drop a bolt or flare down into the mess, but there was no guarantee it would hit the enemy's forces, even ignoring that elementals probably had a maximum range far shorter than the distance to the battle.

Suddenly, the volume of Homs fire started thinning rapidly. The Mechon counterfire started going down to match, penetrating into the Homs' taken territory.

Melia was disappointed. _The Homs must be in retreat. That certainly cannot be a good thing for-_

A blue light appeared from nowhere and started moving up the valley, randomly darting around.

Confused, Melia followed the blue light's movements. _That cannot be gunfire, it's far too erratic. And it's not stopping either, it's continuous. And...it's advancing quite far._

Indeed, the blue light was moving up the valley, jumping to and fro, occasionally pausing its movements or vanishing altogether, only to continue leaving many bright sparks of exploding Mechon behind.

_This has to be some sort of new anti-Mechon weapon. It must be the reason the Homs attacked so strongly: they had faith in their new invention. Though they seem to only have one..._

The light started moving up the valley in a straight line, its intensity growing ever brighter. It didn't take long to resume its irregular path, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. As it reached the end of the valley, it became blindingly bright and culminated in what seemed to be an explosion of energy.

Almost immediately, all the Mechon stopped firing. The remaining Homs also ceased fire, making it now impossible to tell what was going on.

 _That was...certainly something._ Melia remained fixated on the distant valley for a few moments, hoping for something more to occur, but the show was over. _The Homs unleashed their trump card and forced the Mechon into retreat. This can lead to one of two outcomes: either Mechon attacks on the Homs colonies will become less frequent, fearful of this new weapon, or they will enter an arms race and all-out war will escalate. Hopefully it is the former._

She retrieved the remote and pressed the return button. The Illustrious Alighting turned around and blasted back towards Alcamoth at maximum speed, only slowing down once it reached the palace perimeter.

Melia started thinking of how she was going to explain herself being in a hangar at this time of night, but an opportunity presented itself to avoid it: there was a balcony just ahead, and the craft was going to pass close enough above it that she could jump overboard as it continued to make its way to its parking space.

_Okay. Timing is important. Late enough to minimize the drop, early enough so inertia doesn't carry me off the side._

She waited for the perfect moment and hopped off the side, landing on the balcony without much trouble.

 _I got through that pretty good,_ she thought rather smugly. _I snuck away to watch a spectacle and got back without any evidence of..._

The smugness vanished quickly as she realized that someone else was on the balcony, and was staring into the distance exactly where she came from. And it was Kallian.

Melia immediately started sweating. Did he recognize her? There's no way he could have simply missed her arrival, he'd had to have-

"Hmm, what a strange phenomenon." He spoke as if to himself, not turning his gaze away from the sky. "I could have sworn I just saw my sister returning from an apparent joyride. But that's not possible. She cannot pilot, she has no desire to leave the palace at such hour, and she'd certainly be too fearful of discovery. No, it had to have been some other anomaly. How curious."

Melia scampered away back to her room, grateful that she had a brother so willing to turn a blind eye towards her escapades.


	22. Foreseen

It took two days for the Valak Patrol to report on the Battle of Sword Valley, but the news was good: despite a significant amount of casualties, the Homs had dealt a major blow to the Mechon population, cutting their numbers to the point where they now confined themselves to Galahad Fortress and left the valley itself mostly empty. Intelligence led the patrol to believe that most of the work was done by a single individual, a Dunban from Colony 9, said to "wield a powerful anti-Mechon weapon with his bloodstained arm". It was a bit dubious that one person could have had so much influence on such a battle, but the part about having a powerful weapon was indisputable; it had left a massive crater in the valley that glowed blue for a week afterwards. The news was not all good, however - while it was expected that the Mechon would retrieve their destroyed comrades to repurpose their parts, there was also a disturbing lack of Homs corpses. The experts all agreed it was a rather baffling change of behaviour for the machines; normally they would just leave dead organisms alone for enterprising vultures to drag back to the Bionis.

The public did not really care for these events, of course. Mechon had never been seen in Eryth Sea in recorded history, and while quite a number of the population were Homs sympathisers these days, there was still a general apathy towards the race's status and evolution. The battle barely scratched a ten-sentence article on page eight of _The High Enquiry_ , and four months later, no one ever mentioned it.

Spurred by having watched the battle unfold from afar, Melia would occasionally have dreams about fighting Mechon in Sword Valley, with the High Entia alongside the Homs in alliance. But tonight, a completely different dream was in progress.

_Melia looked around. A massive rock arched over an ocean inlet, surrounded by sandy beach, covered by a crystal clear blue sky. She could hear someone speaking, but it didn't seem to be directed at her._

_She was about to walk towards one of the beaches, but realized that she was sitting down. And it was an extremely weird place to be sitting: inside the hood of a blue cloak that someone was wearing. She didn't understand why she would have ever chosen such a place to be - nor why she seemed to be unable to make the jump out of the hood._

_Turning around, she caught sight of the man wearing the cloak: a boy of about her age with messy ear-length hair. He seemed to be talking with an orange Nopon with glasses and a vest. She intended to ask what was going on, but the boy was apparently finished with the conversation and turned around, walking towards the edge of the wooden ground._

_At this point, Melia became lucid, now aware that she was having a dream. As a result, she no longer questioned the world, knowing that it was likely to not make sense in the first place. But perhaps it happened at a bad time._

_The boy turned his head to catch Melia's eye. "C'mon, let's fly!" He lifted Melia out of his hood and kicked off the edge, holding her below himself like a skydiving duo._

_Panic took over Melia's mind; she slammed her eyes shut and desperately started whipping her arms around, hoping that dream logic would kick in and stop the fall into the very much not soft sand below. To her massive relief, such did indeed happen - she could feel the air rushing by sideways rather than downwards, and upon opening her eyes could see that her sleeves were now covered in a blanket of feathers. Despite having a massive weight on her back, she could fly._

_A massive "plunk" suddenly filled the world, as if someone had run full speed into a window. Seconds later, it happened again. And then a third._

Melia woke up, rather confused. Her dreams on the whole tended to not incorporate sudden noises without apparent cause. Something was not right in the real world.

The noise appeared again, emanating from the window. It sounded distinctly like someone was trying to break in, as little sense as that made.

Now wide awake, Melia hopped out of bed and summoned her staff into her hand with a single motion, standing square in front of the window ready for the intruder.

It was a Telethia, the same kind of bipedal species she had seen downtown not too long ago. But there was something rather off about this one, and it took a moment to register: it was undersized, only as tall as Melia's waist. And it was blindly crashing its body into the window, rather than using its claws or ether powers, both of which would be far more effective at breaking the glass. Furthermore, while the Telethia she had previously encountered had the ether signature of a child, this one seemed even less mature, more like a baby. Finally, the creature's glowing bits were a deep crimson red, rather than a bright yellow, green, or blue.

Melia subconsciously relaxed her defenses. _It must be an infant Telethia, too young to understand its strengths._

The Telethia continued to pound itself against the window, like a moth blindly trying to fly into a lamp. The window showed no signs of damage, but the noise was getting irritating. There certainly couldn't be any sleep until it stopped.

 _What can I do about this?_ Calling palace security was the first option that came to mind. But because Telethia were believed to be diurnal creatures - in the sense that they had never before been seen outside the Bionis at night - no effort was made to ensure that there would be a night shift for such experts, and therefore the situation could take a long time to resolve in that fashion. On the other hand, the creature seemed so inexperienced with life in general that she might be able to dispose of it herself. After all, it was ramming its body into its target instead of trying literally anything else, it was targetting a dark room instead of an ether storage area, and it seemed to not respond at all to Melia's appearance. Telethia were only dangerous because of their mind-reading abilities combined with high intelligence for a monster, and there was no evidence that this specimen had either.

A plan formed in Melia's head. She would motion to open the window. If the Telethia backed off beforehand, expecting the window to open and allow it passage, that would be proof it could read her intent and was therefore dangerous. Otherwise, it would continue its motions and throw itself into the room, at which point she could pelt it with a few bolts. Given its size, it was hard to believe it would require much of a sustained attack to take down. Should the Telethia understand the entire plan and try to fool her by not deviating from its pattern, it would still have to take a bit of time to process it, which would almost certainly throw off its rhythm for a moment.

Melia slowly walked towards the window and placed her hand on the latch. Like the doors, the window in her chambers did not fade in and out of existence, but rotated inwards on a physical hinge. As soon as she were to unlock it, the Telethia would be able to knock it open with one impact.

The pounding sound continued, its pattern completely uninterrupted. As this point it felt surprising that no one had yet appeared to investigate the source of the noise.

_It has not reacted whatsoever to my movements or intent. I shall continue._

Melia unlocked the window and stood back. Right on cue, the Telethia barged in, proceeding to crash into the floor and tumble into the far wall.

_It didn't even expect the window to give way once unlocked. It has shown no evidence of telepathy in any capacity, or any sort of intelligence for that matter. This shouldn't be much trouble._

Closing and re-locking the window, Melia summoned a bolt and prepared to blast the creature with it. But its behaviour had taken a rather strange turn - it was perched on its legs as if not used to using them, slowly and stumblingly tottering in her general direction, completely unthreatening in any way. It could be best described as "disarmingly cute".

Melia lowered her staff as the baby Telethia approached and started playfully headbutting her in the hip.

 _...now what?_ Her instinct was to take the creature to the research wing; they had never had a live specimen to study before. But the clock read three-fifteen in the morning, and no one would be there to take it until eight at the earliest - not taking into account that a special ether-free zone would likely have to be set up for containment. And there was no telling how fast it would mature to dangerous levels; research in that area was woefully though understandably bare.

The Telethia seemed to decide that it was bored of headbutting, and moved on to wrapping itself around Melia's right leg.

_No, this is not okay. Get off._

Melia tried shaking her leg, but the added mass made it extremely difficult to move. It was getting harder to stand on at all, in fact; either the Telethia was getting heavier or her muscles were getting weaker.

The realization came relatively quickly. _It's absorbing the ether out of my leg for sustenance. This must be part of the maturation process. Yes, its markings are clearly more orange than red now. No more messing around._

The previously-summoned bolt shot down from above and pegged the beast in the head. It immediately let go and let out a strange wail, which quickly changed into a small roar as it readied itself to pounce.

Wanting to check how much the Telethia had grown, Melia clumsily swung her staff down at it, her leg still feeling a bit soft and wobbly. Even before she completed half the motion, it had jumped to the side out of harm's way, its markings slowly changing to a definite yellow.

 _There it is, precognizance of incoming attacks. Maybe I telegraphed too hard, but there's no reason to delay any further._ Melia sent more bolts at the enemy, each one interrupting its next planned attack. After a total of four bolts, it made one last moan and stopped moving.

Melia lobbed her staff back onto the desk where she had left it, where it landed silently. _It's a shame that I had to kill it, science could have used it to better our understanding of them. But the timing was just too unlucky. If it had appeared during the day, I would certainly have had a better chance to have it captured rather than eliminated._

She lumbered back into bed, her leg starting to feel a bit better.

Immersed in whatever dream she had next, Melia completely forgot about the events of the night until she woke up to see the dead Telethia sitting exactly where she left it. She reasoned that she didn't have much choice but to carry it over to the research wing. Even if not alive, it could be useful for something.

She didn't consider what the reaction of the palace's occupants would be. Within half a minute of the first guard seeing her, she found her path blocked by a throng of people seeking proof of what they had heard. It took only two minutes for Kallian to arrive on the scene and declare that, while infant Telethia were indeed probably significantly less of a threat than adults, not once in history had one been killed by a single individual, and so it was a landmark accomplishment that would be repeated across the city for years. Sorean arrived not too long after with Yumea and echoed these sentiments, demanding that she fetch her mask and step onto the podium, displaying her skill and power for the whole population to see, and declaring that which he hoped would be repeated by everyone for the rest of time:

"Melia Antiqua has killed a Telethia!"

* * *

Of all the feats Melia had done over the years, killing a Telethia stuck in the public's minds for months as the biggest and most important, despite her trying her absolute hardest to downplay it. She didn't want to be known to history as "the princess who killed a Telethia" if all she did was pump some bolts into a confused baby. After a month of intense lobbying - three magazine interviews and a talk show apperanace, which was pretty intense by her standards - the public did indeed seem to come to an understanding that it wasn't the most threatening Telethia. But it was still a Telethia, the scariest creature on the Bionis, and that still deserves some respect.

Given that it was difficult to go a day without being reminded of the feat, Melia slowly became resistant to its mention, learning to almost completely ignore it whenever it was brought up. It didn't take long for her to basically not care whatsoever, to decide that it was a meaningless event that conferred no useful experience (aside from perhaps "Telethia might suck the ether out of you"). Of course, her father disagreed; he strongly believed that this was an indication that she would have little problem defending herself should an adult Telethia ever appear.

Several months after the incident, it was reported that yet another Telethia had escaped the Bionis. But to everyone's surprise, it did not send itself into Alcamoth to cause havoc, rather taking to soaring around the sea and absorbing important ether crystal deposits. The experts were sent to deal with it, and the matter was considered closed.

A few days later, Melia was responding to a piece of mail in her chambers when there was a knock at the door. Unsurprisingly, it was Kallian. Surprisingly, he was nervously rubbing his hands around each other, a behaviour she couldn't recall ever seeing before.

"Yes, Brother, what is it?"

It took a moment for him to speak. "Father...wishes to see you." It couldn't be more clear that he was displeased about it.

"Er...a moment please." Melia closed over the door and went back to the desk, putting away the incomplete letter and picking up her staff. From there, she wordlessly followed Kallian to the Audience Chamber.

The mood was serious. The guards in the room seemed extra stiff. Sorean stood off to the side of the throne, facing the Imperial Staff placed behind it, apparently deep in thought. Yumea was on the other side of the throne, looking oddly pleased with herself.

As Melia kneeled in the designated location, Kallian went off on his own to a back corner, where he proceeded to try and remain as invisible as possible. It was blatantly obvious that he did not approve of whatever was about to happen.

After a few moments, Melia determined she would need to speak first. "Your Majesty, I, First Princess Melia Antiqua, have arrived."

Sorean was broken out of his thoughts and slowly stepped into the throne. "Melia. I have for you a task that is of critical importance to our people, moreso than anything you have accomplished in life thus far. Do you accept?"

_He's asking whether I accept before giving me any information at all. This is a very bad sign. It must be some task that he knows I would reject if I knew what it was, and so I cannot ask for any more information, because he'll just not give it. And I can't just say no without cause; he knows I have no other obligations, no current sickness or injury, and a record of accepting and completing everything he has previously set me to do. I am left with no choice.  
_

"It is my duty to serve His Majesty, and to carry out whatever deeds he sets me to do. I accept."

Sorean nodded. "Then let us begin." He paused for a moment, as if taking one last instant to determine that he was sure of his decision. "You have surely heard of the recent rogue Telethia, which has been traversing the sea and damaging its ether, most importantly its crystal deposits. Many knights have been sent to dispatch it. But this Telethia is more powerful than any we have ever seen; it is of a subspecies that has never escaped the Bionis' interior in the past, and we have very little answer to its whims. Merely yesterday, our thirty strongest warriors in the field of anti-Telethia combat were sent after it. Only four returned, with chilling tales of the creature's unfathomable abilities. Soon afterward, our scouts reported that the Telethia has repositioned itself to Makna Forest, taking its hatred of life and hunger for crystals with it. It was indeed weakened by the battles we waged, but it is far from defeated, and before long it will find the Nopon village and cause untold devastation. This is your task: to seek out the Telethia and put an end to it."

It didn't take long for Melia to predict where the speech was going from the moment the word "Telethia" was uttered, but she was still hopeful that she'd be wrong. Instead, she found herself under a crushing feeling of dread. Thirty experts failed to take down a beast, and now she was supposed to do so with one infant of experience? Granted, even the experts had very little opportunity to fight live specimens; most of their experience was theoretical rather than practical, which was enough for the average case. But going in by herself was surely madness. She had seen the pictures of one scout's report back when the creature was first seen: a massive quadruped with three heads, a far cry from the tiny biped she had killed. It looked like it could crush her into powder with a single foot.

Seeing that Melia's face was losing colour, Sorean continued. "As daunting as the path ahead of you may seem, I would not be placing you upon it if I did not have a complete and unwavering belief in your success. Your mastery of ether and elementals is more than a match for any Telethia, even disregarding the additional protection your cadre will provide. You shall go forth and show the Bionis the extent of your extraordinary power."

Melia had not budged since the whole speech began. She dimly registered that she would be accompanied by her cadre, but her overactive imagination was busy considering the variety of ways that a giant Telethia could kill her: slammed into a wall, thrown off a cliff, drained of life, torn into pieces, blasted with lightning, eaten whole, incinerated into ash...Without any response from her, the hall fell into an eerie silence.

To everyone's surprise, Yumea spoke up. "I will admit to being skeptical in the past about your abilities, First Princess. But with this mission ahead of you, I am certain you will attain the best possible result."

Melia instantly perked up. A compliment from her stepmother was like finding a deliciously sour fruit in a sea of spicy peppers. The doomsday predictions in her mind were replaced with visions of fighting the Telethia toe-to-toe alongside her four protectors. It still wasn't all that compelling, but there was a ray of hope.

Sorean picked up on the newfound optimism. "You need not embark on your task today. Prepare yourself, enjoy your dinner, sleep well, and be ready tomorrow morning. But before you disappear under the covers tonight, look at the stars. The great emperors of the past look down on us from those stars. Listen to anything you can feel them imparting upon you, as I have done many times in the past. Only with sound body and mind can you make your mark upon history."

 _That seems quite final. I suppose nothing I say will change a thing._ "I shall heed your words and pour my full strength into the task set ahead of me."

"I am glad to hear it. Your cadre has already been notified, and are making their own preparations. Do whatever you need for your own, and be prepared to disembark tomorrow at seven-thirty. Make us proud, Melia."

"I shall, Fa-Your Majesty." Sensing that the conversation was over, Melia stood up and turned to leave. No one budged as she began the long, slow walk back to her chambers.

She didn't think about much on the journey. There wasn't anything she could do to prepare other than simply practice all the arts she could, and there was no strategy to consider other than "use Mind Blast to allow my allies' physical attacks to hit". By itself, this made her uneasy; it was only a month ago that she finally got a successful aura clear out of the attack, and while it felt like her success rate with it was fifty-fifty, she still strongly felt like it was not developed enough to function effectively in a real fight.

Walking on autopilot, she almost missed that Kallian was standing beside her bedroom door, still looking quite displeased.

"I expressly argued against this decision," he said before she could get any words out, "but rare enough are the cases on which both Mother and Father agree from the start that I had very little hope of swaying them. And I have no advice to provide you, nor any means of assisting you. Just know one thing: it is my opinion that your survival is more important than your success. Do not throw your life away simply to kill a beast."

Melia couldn't recall ever seeing Kallian this openly flustered. She spoke her mind without thinking about it. "So you do not believe I can succeed?"

Kallian's face spent a few seconds making several weird motions, clearly grappling with the question. "I do believe you can succeed. I do not believe it is worth the risk. The Telethia will fall eventually, even if we have to send a thousand warriors at once. If you succeed, those many lives will not be put into danger. But your life is altogether far more important than theirs. It is an equation with no correct solution."

It was rather disconcerting to see her normally unflappable brother acting so worried. _Maybe this would be a good time to turn the tables and apply a joke._ "At least he's not sending you. All you could do is filibuster it to death."

Caught off guard, Kallian fell into a chuckling loop for about thirty seconds. "Oh how cruel and inhumane that would be for all sides." He wiped away a tear. "With three heads to debate me with, it might take an eternity to bring down through filibuster alone. I would have to take Mother and Father along to even the odds."

It was Melia's turn to chuckle. "A brilliant plan. Send three members of the imperial family to out-talk a Telethia while I remain behind and fight an unending deluge of royal duties. Yes, that would most certainly be the perfect time to take a vacation, to close all imperial business for a month and sip juice on a beach somewhere while the world's greatest debate proceeds down in the jungle. I forsee nothing wrong with this plan whatsoever."

Kallian shook his head as he slowly ran out of laughs, taking a breather before he said any more, staring into the distance. "I have business at Flasch University tonight. I may not see you again before you depart tomorrow morning. So I leave you with this: Your cadre will do whatever it takes to protect you. Do not let them return home without you." He looked back at her and forced a smile. "It's sourshrimp for dinner tomorrow. I'll see you there, Melia."

"You shall, Brother." She watched him walk away. To see him this worried about her was an ominous sign of how dangerous tomorrow would be - and a disturbing indication that perhaps her father cared much less about her well-being than she thought.

* * *

Melia woke early. Too nervous to go back to sleep, she got dressed, picked up her Practice Staff, and began going through the motions of her arts. Her previous "missions" hadn't given her this much time to prepare, so she was kind of unsure what to do with herself other than practice until breakfast.

Someone knocked on the door. Melia quizzically turned towards it. _It is far too soon to depart. What could this be about?_ She put down the Practice Staff and straightened up.

"You may enter."

Alvis walked into the room. "Good morning, Your Highness."

 _You? You've never come here before._ "Hello Seer. For what purpose have you come?"

"I have received an unusual vision outside the course of my regular duties." A pause. "It pertains to you, and only you."

"To me?" _Well that by itself is not unusual, but he is never so direct to me about it._ "Does my father know of this?"

"He does not, and I do not believe he should." Another pause. "It is much more personal than most visions, yet simultaneously much more vague."

 _Your normal visions are reportedly vague enough, most of them vague to the point of uselessness. I suppose I might as well listen though._ "All right. Let us hear it."

Alvis closed his eyes. "There is nothing but blackness, a cold, empty void. A dazzling light cuts though the darkness and illuminates the image of a young man. Then, a voice speaks: _He who wields the sword of light, shall meet the crown princess, and together change the fate of this world."_

Melia nodded. "A personal and vague vision indeed." _Although only the second part is all that vague; "the sword of light" seems quite specific and could not refer to anything I know of._ "Tell me, what did this young man look like?"

Alvis's eyes remained closed. "A boy of pale skin and golden hair."

_Golden hair? Children lose their golden hair many decades before they are able to wield a sword. Unless...it is a half-Homs that has retained it? It is a rare condition, but would stand out very strongly._

"Very well. I shall remember your words, and heed them to the best of my ability."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Alvis bowed as he left the room.

Melia continued to consider what the seer had said. _How could a single man change the world simply by meeting me? If he does indeed wield a unique weapon, that by itself would be the catalyst. Meeting me would have no consequence - unless he is on a quest that requires a skilled ether user, but even then, there are likely better candidates for such a position than myself. I may be skilled, but I have other obligations.  
_

_Perhaps...if he is a half-Homs, and we change the world "together"...could this be a prophecy of marriage? It seems preposterous to bring up such a thing at this time, but...what if the meeting is supposed to occur in the near future? Perhaps soon after I have returned from this mission? Though that supposes I am successful, which is very much not a given. And more importantly I suppose, it assumes that I develop an immediate and sustained romantic connection. The seer cannot be blamed for being unaware that this is probably impossible. A lack of trying, true, but-_

_Hold a moment. He used the wording "crown princess". While it's a phase sometimes misused by even myself, I have never known him to sloppily dispense the terminology. Assuming this is the case, in his vision, Kallian would not be in line for the throne. This by itself casts doubt on it being potentially true._

_I will keep this vision in mind, but not think much of it._ Melia went back to practicing her arts, knowing that not much time remained before breakfast and subsequently departure.

* * *

"I wish you and your men the best possible luck," Chief Dunga finished.

"Thank you." Melia turned to leave Frontier Village, Aizel and Damil in tow. She had decided to check in with the Nopon to see if they knew anything, and indeed they did - a "Dinobeast" was seen to the west of the village the previous day. It wasn't much, bit it was better than nothing.

"How is the heat, Lady Melia?" asked Damil.

She considered the question for a moment. Her clothes seemed to be doing a good job so far of air circulation and sweat diffusion, including the moisture headdress her father had provided, which helped protect her sensitive wings from the heat and humidity. "It is tolerable at this time." _It's not going to be fun during a heated battle though, possibly even if we have to walk a ways. It is a relief that Father agreed that wearing my headdress and mask would be a severe detriment to my success.  
_

On the wooden porch outside the village's entrace, Garan was inputting something into the Illustrious Alighting's touchscreen, with Hogard waiting alongside.

"How did it go, Lady Melia?" asked Garan, today's pilot. "Do we have a lead?"

"Somewhat." Melia wouldn't call it a lead - it was still half the forest, after all. "The Telethia was seen to the west of the village yesterday. Understandably, the Nopon proceeded to avoid the area, so no further accuracy is available."

Garan nodded. "Very well. I have prepared your craft to seek shelter in a known safe place, to the west of Bridge Four. Once we encounter the Telethia, we will disembark, and I will send it to safety while we fight."

 _I was wondering about that. Now we can remove the unknown of how a Telethia would respond to an unmanned vehicle rich in powerful ether._ "A wise course of action."

"I do not believe we should travel too quickly while seeking the beast," Hogard suggested. "It would create a louder ether signature that would attract unwanted attention from both the local creatures and the Telethia itself."

"Of course. If we can launch a surprise attack, we may be able to inflict significant damage before the Telethia is prepared to fight." Melia spoke confidently, but was still very much uncertain. True, Telethia could only read the minds of those it knows to be present, but it might still be able to sense their approaching ether signatures before a good shot could be launched.

"We think with the same logic, Lady Melia," Aizel said. "Let us away."

The party of five boarded the Illustrious Alighting and set off to the west at a sprinter's pace, hovering above the giant grounded creatures and taking care to avoid the aerial ones. The mood was slowly tensing up; Melia could sense that the others were mentally preparing for the upcoming fight. She wasn't sure if she should do the same - being too tense would ruin the flow of her ether arts. Instead, she watched the landscape pass by below.

Melia couldn't see the clock on the dashboard from in back, but it felt like just a few minutes before Damil pointed towards the ground.

"There," he said softly.

Not too far from some sort of Nopon construction, the Telethia was pounding against a crystal deposit, breaking chunks of crystal off and scarfing them up with its three heads. Just seconds after it was spotted, the deposit was gone, and it began dashing to the southwest.

Aizel turned to Melia. "Lady Melia, what is your call?"

Melia was about to make a decision when the Illustrious Alighting was blasted by a pulse of etheral lightning, causing it to jolt upwards. The Telethia had spotted it, and was flying upwards to intercept.

Several things happened at once. Damil fired a Blinding Beam down towards the Telethia in an attempt to halt its movement. Garan activated the ship's prepared retreat, causing it to spin around and dart towards the river. Finally, Hogard grabbed Melia and leaped off the craft, with the other three fighters quick to follow.

Not completely aware of what had just happened, Melia thrashed about for a few seconds before realizing that everyone had bailed. Immediately upon realizing such, she could feel Hogard hit the ground and crumple, leaving her to clumsily impact the grass rear-first. There was no injury, but it stung quite sharply for several seconds.

"Form up!" Aizel yelled as the other three protectors landed safely and drew their weapons. Hogard collected himself and stood ready.

Melia staggered to her feet and looked up. The Telethia was hanging motionlessly in the air, apparently deciding whether to go after the ship or its occupants.

 _We can't have it get away._ She fired a bolt towards the creature, impacting it in a knee. It took a few seconds to consider it, but then it dove downwards, landing with a massive thump that shook the land.

The cadre didn't waste any time. Aizel and Hogard began attempting to attract the Telethia's attention while Garan and Damil began the attack. But it was clear from that start that things were not going well - even with four foes against it, the creature easily evaded all of their physical attacks. Only ether arts were dealing any damage - meaning that the beast would quickly turn on Damil after inevitably shaking off the lock-on Aizel had placed on it. And that wasn't to say that said lock-on was doing much good anyway, as it was launching ether attacks with such a large range that they were landing on three or four members of the cadre at once.

Melia knew what her role was: generate a burst aura and use Mind Blast to suppress the Telethia's ability to read minds. Summoning a wind to boost her allies' agility and an ice to defend against its ether attacks, she started pelting it with bolts and flares. But about halfway to her goal, the lock-on broke, and the enemy was now coming directly towards her.

"You fiend!" Damil, having used Etheral Grasp to absorb some of the Telethia's power, unleashed a Sword Beam that knocked the enemy's three heads into each other.

"Lay no paw upon her!" Garan thrust her weapon into its side with Luminescent Stab, an etheral rapier attack.

The Telethia did not seem too deterred from these interferences, though instead of continuing to dash at Melia, it decided to leap into the sky and circle around.

 _Almost there._ Melia decided to take the risk, detonating her ice and launching her wind at the creature, almost but not quite reaching burst aura completion.

A disturbing roar covered the landscape; it seemed as if the Telethia's three heads were designed to sound dissonant together. It began diving back towards the ground, looking a little silly with its legs running through the air.

Damil stood firm in the creature's path, shield raised for the inevitable hit. Melia was about to yell at him to move, but realized that it didn't matter - it would hit him no matter what he did, so he might as well set up a solid defense.

The impact was massive, sending Damil flying a good twenty meters across the ground. The Telethia seemed completely unaffected by the collision; it continued along its path to bump into Garan, knocking her down and unleashing another roar.

Aizel kept trying to get the beast's attention, but he was quite exhausted from the effort of having to continuously do so. Hogard seemed more concerned about blocking the creature's line of sight to Melia than to try and make any more futile attacks. Melia wanted to fire some more elementals to get the critical burst aura, but her concentration was shot, staring off to the side at the completely unmoving Damil.

Garan stood up to face the beast once more, but its reaction was instant: a punch directly to the face, snapping her head back with a sickening crack and sending her weapon flying.

The two remaining soldiers huddled around Melia.

"Lady Melia!" Aizel said. "Withdraw to the Nopon village and let us handle this beast!"

 _You fool, I'm the only one who has a hope of landing a blow._ "No, Aizel. Do you really expect me to leave you, run away, and save myself?"

"Permit us this once, Lady Melia. It is our honour and our duty to protect you with our lives. Do not fear for us. Flee!"

 _Where has your common sense gone?_ "I will not. I cannot return to the capital with this monster still standing!" _I'm so close, I just need a few more seconds of distraction-_

The Telethia bellowed once more, emitting a wave of violet energy that battered the three remaining fighters. As far as Melia could tell it wasn't really much of anything aside from an ominous-looking wind, but Aizel and Hogard were so exhausted already that they were knocked to the ground.

"Aizel! Hogard!" _Stand your ground, you never went down that easily in our mock battles!_

The two collapsed bodies suddenly vanished, turning into bright clouds of light that the Telethia then absorbed into its body. It proceeded to run around the battlefield to do the same to the other two, leaving no doubt that only two combatants remained.

Melia was left in a stunned trance, mindlessly staring at the place where her protectors had been just a moment ago.

She wasn't given much time to do so before the Telethia soared at her head. Acting on instinct without thought, she ducked and raised her staff, turning the attack into a glancing blow. It still knocked her to the ground, but it didn't really deal any damage.

The enemy was now circling overhead, seemingly considering its attack vector on its next victim.

A multitude of emotions crashed together in Melia's mind, trying to figure out how best to proceed now that her lifelong companions and allies in battle had all been killed in less than a minute.

"...Aizel...Hogard...Garan. Damil!" The words and emotions grew stronger, forming what felt like a surge of power as the enemy landed alongside. "Bestow the light of your life unto me!"

Instinctively raising her staff into the air, Melia detonated a Burst End - resulting in activating her burst aura, which was the opposite of how things were supposed to happen. The Telethia roared as it got buffeted by the energy, but it stood its ground.

With no more allies to work with, Melia began summoning and discharging elementals as fast as she could manage, focusing on raw damage more than anything - there wasn't much point of fooling around with Mind Blast if she didn't need to stop the monster's telepathic aura anymore. She knew she was getting somewhere when the enemy's movements became more sluggish and strained, and fired up her focus even more. Self-preservation was no longer relevant - she would give one life to avenge four others.

Unfortunately, there was still a trick up the creature's proverbial sleeve. Recognizing that Melia was a source of raw ether energy, which would help revitalize it, it leapt forwards, grabbed onto her with both front legs, and started to drain the energy out of her.

 _What...no, get off me!_ While she didn't need her arms free to keep firing elementals, she couldn't knock the Telethia's grip off with them, and it was becoming more and more difficult to maintain focus. _...get those filthy...paws off me..._

The Telethia did indeed let go of Melia, but she simply collapsed to the ground as it continued to leech her. Her burst aura was now fully depleted, and she could barely get off one more bolt before becoming too weak to summon anything more. The world started to lose colour and brightness.

_...no...can't lose...now...not finished...must...keep... ... ...nnnooo... .. .. . . .  
_


	23. Stifling

_Melia opened her eyes, but may as well not have bothered, with the world just as pitch-black as when they were closed. She immediately thought back to the last time she had a near-death experience - the first assassination attempt - and noted how there was at least an infinite sky of stars to see then. The unbroken blackness this time around was far spookier._

_Still, there was a glimmer of hope. She could feel that she still had a body, which implied she was still connected to the world of the living at least for now, though she was far too drained to do much more than wiggle her fingers and toes._

_She tried to avoid thinking about the current situation, but it started the instant she became aware she didn't want to - thinking about how she was now alone in the forest, probably with severe ether deficiency, with no one likely to even consider the possibility she may need rescuing. It was likely the creatures of the forest would leave her limp and etherless body alone, but she would need to eat eventually, and the Nopon village was somewhere between one and four hours of walking away._

_It was impossible to keep track of time, but it felt like only a few minutes had passed before something happened: gravity turned slantways, as if someone had pulled on the back of the universe's chair. Still unable to physically do anything, Melia helplessly tumbled down the featureless ground for several seconds until the world re-righted itself - at which point she became aware that she could now see._

_Lying face-up, there seemed to be a fire behind her, illuminating the forest around - except it wasn't the same forest. All of the trees were a ghostly grey with no leaves, and the ground was bare dirt covered with dead branches. The sky was a sickly chartreuse with thin, eerie, magenta clouds circling, the sun a black hole in the sky._

_Melia was legitimately scared now. The new appearance of the world perfectly matched a lesser theory of the afterlife - that of a parallel land of the dead, where souls persist as skeletal figures while hoping to be reborn after working off their sins. She desperately clung to the hope that it was simply her overactive imagination envisioning all this._

_Focusing all her energy, she managed to roll over onto her front, letting her see the fire - which turned out not to be a fire at all, but a large man made of fire. His hair and wings were the most energetic flames, burning white-hot while the rest of him covered the spectrum of warm colours._

A man of fire is not part of this specific mythology, _Melia considered._ This is a good sign for my...er, well-being.

_Looking around further, she spotted five other figures. Standing beside the man of fire was a slightly smaller man composed of wind, his form nothing but an infinite cluster of leaves and petals swirling around. Next in line was a man of earth, clad in rocky armour shaped like the Bionis, wielding a blade composed of a bright-glowing venom. On the other side stood a figure of nothing but electricity, its gender indeterminate, with no physical form but a triangular metal plate in its chest. The fifth being was a woman of water, her wings foamy but her body calm. Last in line appeared to be an older man composed of ice with snowy wings, a weak blizzard surrounding him. All of the figures were facing away from her._

These seem to be...representations of my elementals? _"Hhhh...helh..." Speaking was quite a challenge; her mouth was as slack and unresponsive as the rest of her. "...helwloh? Hello?"_

_Melia could somehow sense that she knew the figures had heard her, but they made no effort to respond. She wanted to try again but couldn't get any more words out. The world started turning dark again._

_"...ehl! Eheehhlph!"_

_The last thing she saw was the earthy figure turn his head and give her a slight, sideways glance._

It felt like the real world was coming back into focus; Melia could again feel sunlight and hear the forest rustling. She also thought she heard someone speaking, but that was clearly an illusion; no Nopon would dare venture to where a Telethia just was.

"...where am I?" The words escaped her mouth basically unconsciously. She seemed much less tired than she expected. She cast her eyes across the living forest, relieved to be still part of it.

A second voice seemed to be speaking now. Melia ignored it, assuming it was yet another figment of her imagination.

_I seem to have recovered reasonably well. I must return to the Nopon village immediately and determine how long I have been unconscious for, before seeking out the Telethia once again, hopefully before it has recovered from its injuries. A creature of its nature cannot hide-_

_What is this on my arm?!_

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" The Telethia's paws still fresh in her mind, Melia located the face of the person touching her and slapped it as hard as she could manage.

"Hey, watch it!" The voice came from what was apparently a group of three Homs, the fourth being the one she had lashed out at.

The remorse was instant. "F-Forgive me. I-I did not mean to..." Something was twiddling the back of her mind, and it did not take long to recall why: the man she had slapped was "a boy of pale skin and golden hair", just like Alvis had said. And there sure was a black void just a moment ago.

"Sorry if we surprised you." The victim looked unfazed by the rude reception.

 _At least my thoughtless action has not instantly turned him against me. I must determine whether I awoke on my own, or these strangers provided assistance._ "Are you the ones who helped me?"

The blond made a half-shrug motion. "Well, something like that."

_Drat. That means being knocked out indefinitely is a risk that will continue to loom upon re-engaging the Telethia. I shall have to be exceptionally careful.  
_

As she stood up, Melia took stock of the rest of the Homs group: a strongly-muscled man with a huge weapon on his back, an older man with a sword and what looked like an injured right arm, and a young woman with an ether rifle. It seemed most likely that a healing round form the rifle was the source of her awakening, though it would have to have been quite strong to directly wake her from what was pretty much a coma.

 _I suppose I shall have to introduce myself._ "Excuse me. My name is Melia." _Drat, it slipped my mind to use Mel as I usually do when anonymous. And I guess an explanation of my behaviour is in order._ "Forgive my indiscretion. I have not had the pleasure of coming into contact with a male Homs." _Wait no, that came out wrong, I mean-_

"Coming into contact?" The older man chuckled.

"Hey Shulk. You're creeping this lady out." The big redhead was taking it in fun, but the blond did not approve.

"Shut up, Reyn!"

 _Hmph. Quite untrue._ "This large one is far worse." _Oh for...how did that thought escape? Clearly I remain under some residual effects; my mind is not where it needs to be._

"Me?" The other Homs laughed at the big guy for being the butt of the put-down. Melia did not share their sentiment; she wanted the group to continue on their way so she could regroup on her own.

_But the seer's vision...there can be no doubt it refers to this blond Homs, and not a half-blood as I originally suspected. Are we to meet again in the future? Or should I join this group for a short while? They may indeed deserve some sort of reward for helping me._

"Melia, is it? How did you get here, then? What, is there no one with you?" The woman was the first to ask the unpleasant questions.

 _Having saved my life or not, they are still Homs, and there is no reason to reveal anything of my nature or mission to them._ "I must apologise, but my situation does not concern you. And I shall not be divulging anything to common passers-by."

"Duly noted, your ladyship." The older man had a smooth voice, and it was becoming clear that his right arm was disabled rather than simply injured. "But if I were to be so bold, I'm guessing that you didn't come here alone, and you weren't just taking an afternoon nap."

Melia could feel her lips tightening in irritation. "And what, may I ask, are _you_ doing here? It is rare to see Homs venture this deep into Makna Forest."

"We're travelling to the head of the Bionis. We've got a long journey ahead of us."

As the blond turned towards the distant head, Melia got her first good look at the weapon on his back - a curious sword-like object with no edge and a large hole near the hilt. _Could that be the "sword of light" from the vision? It certainly has a unique shape. But wait...they're going to the Bionis' head?_ "The head of the Bionis?"

The redhead nodded. "We were just figuring out how to get there when we found you."

"I see." _That is strange indeed. What could a Homs have to do at the Bionis' head? There have been no Homs colonies there for decades. I am intrigued._ "Then permit me to return the favour by aiding you in your quest."

"Really?"

"There is only one path to the head of the Bionis. It is the path that leads to Eryth Sea." It was not technically true, but she'd need a map to locate the Trapezius Passage, and there was no way she was entering the Spinal Spiral in her current state. The seabridge at Apex Lake was the only reasonable option.

"So this Eryth Sea is at the head of the Bionis?" the redhead asked.

 _The fire on his head must burn from the air that fills it._ "If you would be kind enough to escort me out of the forest, I will show you the way." _That should be a simple way to both help these travellers and get me back to my mission quickly._

"You'd do that?!" The blond seemed legitimately surprised. "Thank you, Melia! I'm Shulk. Pleased to meet you."

"Shulk, ah yes, likewise." It would have been nice for Alvis to give her the name of who he had seen, but she supposed visions didn't work that way. "And your companions are?"

"Oh, well, Reyn is the big guy and Sharla is our medic. And Dunban is the old hand, maybe you've heard of him."

The name was indeed familiar to her, though she couldn't place why. "Perhaps. I am not current with the popular Homs."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Dunban gave off a distinctly unflappable aura, very much like Kallian. _Perhaps he is also an older brother, or maybe a father._

 _Anyway, we should get going._ "We shall travel to the Nopon village."

"Nopon village? That's where we've been heading. We reckon it's our best chance of making it to the top."

 _...really? Interesting. Correct, but for likely the wrong reasons._ "Since inhabiting the region, the Nopon have been a great help. You can travel to Eryth Sea from their village."

"It's settled. We'll make our way to the Nopon village."

"Very well. The Nopon inhabit a giant tree. If we follow this trail, we will be safe." _Well, safer than crossing through the forest proper would be._

The group of five started moving towards the village. It wasn't ten minutes before reaching an obstacle in the path: a pair of Inferno Deinos, still a decent ways away, but clearly quite happy with where they were standing.

Dunban drew his weapon. "Melia, let's learn each others' fighting styles. We'll need to be prepared in case we find big trouble."

 _I suppose that is true._ "Very well." Melia readied her staff. "I am a practioner of ether arts. Observe." She put one of the two Deinos to sleep with Hypnotise and attracted the other one's attention by striking it with a summoned bolt. The enraged creature started dashing towards the group.

Melia next put effort into an earth summon. But it was immediately apparent that she was still suffering from her bout with ether deficiency, as after five seconds the defensive elemental had yet to appear. Upset with her new handicaps, she switched to summoning an aqua, which also took a sizeable three seconds to produce.

"Bring it on!" Reyn grabbed the Deinos's attention before it reached Melia, and from there the rest of the party started attacking it.

 _My performance bodes very poorly for continuing my mission._ Melia started iterating across all the non-burst arts she knew and attempting each one of them. Frustratingly, everything she had learned later than summoning aquas was too unfocused or too slow to utilize in battle, and even aquas were dangerously sluggish. _It looks like I'll be stuck with a limited palette for a while. So do I go after the weakened Telethia immediately with few arts, or allow both it and myself to recover?_

She turned her attention back to the battle at hand; the first Deinos was very weak, while the second had finally woken up and joined in. She summoned her three currently-usable elementals and let their auras boost the rest of the group as she observed how they fought. Reyn and Dunban held the monsters' attention, while Shulk attacked from behind and Sharla supplied boosts from afar. Like a well-oiled machine, they had little trouble dispatching the two creatures.

"That wasn't so bad." Shulk replaced his weapon on his back and turned to Melia. "Are you feeling okay? You looked like you had some trouble there."

Melia sighed regrettably. "I am still partially affected by ether deficiency. My more advanced ether arts are not functioning sufficiently enough to be usable in battle." _I should be practicing them every chance I get, including during this walk to the Nopon village, to speed up my recovery. I might as well begin with aquas and proceed in the same order in which I learned them. How long will it take to re-train them to usable levels? Depending on the severity of the deficiency, it could very well be days or even weeks. How many arts do I truly need to defeat a Telethia?  
_

"That's no big deal," Sharla said. "We all have a few techniques we're just not ready to bring to the table yet. I've been practicing Aura Bullet recently; it's close to being battle-ready."

_It may be "no big deal" to you, but it is very much not so for me. Without all my elementals, I am unbalanced towards offense, which is not supposed to be my primary strategy._

The group continued their journey towards the village. The four Homs made irrelevant small talk between themselves. They didn't seem fully prepared to include Melia in their normal conversations, which suited her just fine; she made no effort to listen to them, and instead focused on repeatedly summoning aquas. She did first attempt to read their personal ether signatures to try and get a better idea of who they were, but the sheer amount of life in the forest made it so difficult to single out any one being's ether that it was probably not worth the hassle. She could however note that Shulk's weapon was emitting a very peculiar signature, a pattern she'd never seen before, which at the very least would help if she somehow ended up separated from the group.

"Say, Melia?" Shulk was the first one to try and include their new travelling companion. "Um, what's the story with your hair? You look a little young to be going grey already." He let out a nervous half-chuckle.

Melia instinctively got huffy at the formulation of the question. "I assure you this colouration is normal at my age."

"Oh, I'm sorry." He paused for a bit. "So grey hair is normal for...for wherever you're from?"

 _What is he trying to..._ It took a moment for Melia to realize that her moisture headdress concealed her wings to the point where she could be mistaken for a silver-haired Homs. She originally assumed that the group's lack of surprise at her appearance was that they were aware of the High Entia, given that they were in Makna Forest, the lowest part of the Bionis where her people were considered to have a presence. Yet in fact they simply thought her to be Homs, and likely had no idea her people existed.

"...Indeed it is." _I'll need to be careful then. Even if the seer did somewhat tell me to follow these strangers, I can't simply reveal my true nature. It would raise too many unanswerable questions.  
_

Shulk nodded. "So it must be a little weird to see people like us, then? With all our different-coloured hair?"

"I was aware that Homs of the lower colonies have...different physical characteristics." _I really shouldn't be this dismissive. I do need to be secretive, but it does me no good to simply stomp out their conversations._ "Though...I have not personally seen an array this diverse." _Not entirely true I suppose, as I have been to Colony 7, but that mission is top-secret anyway._

"What, have you eaten a thesaurus recently?" Reyn chuckled at his own joke.

 _That's quite a big word for you to know._ "I am educated in many things. Vocabulary is indeed one of them."

Dunban laughed. "Don't you worry about Reyn's unique brand of intellect, madam."

Shulk and Sharla joined Dunban's laughing.

"Hey now, what's that supposed to mean?" Reyn tried to snarl in disgust, but couldn't do so without revealing that he too was slightly amused.

The conversation went off on some other tangent, which Melia once again ignored after confirming she was not part of it. Still, she was starting to understand the current group dynamic: Shulk and Reyn were close friends, Dunban was both friend and role model, and Sharla was a more recent addition that was not yet completely assimilated.

It didn't take long for her to become quite uncomfortable with the current situation. The jungle heat was slowly rendering her ever sweatier. The occasional fight against aggressive wildlife repeatedly reminded her how stunted her arts were, and the one time a chain attack was launched she was so unprepared that she didn't even get to participate. Her legs were starting to get sore from the ceaseless walking over the uneven terrain, her high-heeled footwear proving to be a hindrance when not on perfectly level ground. Every now and then, she would be roped into the Homs' conversation, where she had to satisfactorily answer their queries while providing as little actual information as possible. And all the while, she had to hope that the Telethia wouldn't decide to reappear out of nowhere, surely eradicating the Homs within seconds and probably her shortly afterwards. To call her stress elevated would be an understatement.

* * *

_This has been a most unpleasant day._

Melia was lying in the sixth bunk up of the Homhom Hotel, a building in Frontier Village built to house up to ten visiting Homs. It was tolerable, but nothing like what she was used to. Unable to sleep, she kept recounting the day's events over and over again.

She had subconsciously divided the day into four parts. The first part was the nervous preparation, the arrival in the forest to speak to the Nopon and search for the Telethia. The second part was the massacre, where her lifelong companions were all killed within seconds, and she ended up doing not much more than wounding the creature for the cost of most of her arts and almost her own life. The third part was meeting the group of four Homs and traipsing through the forest alongside them. And the fourth part was getting back to the village, being forced to spill the nature of her mission, and now stuck in these subpar accomodations.

The Nopon of Frontier Village acted in good faith, but ultimately did not know much about other races' needs other than "bigger". They had no facilities available aside from basically an outhouse - it took Melia over five minutes to work up the courage to use it, and felt terribly unclean afterwards. Dinner was a hodgepodge of fruit, plants, and fungi alongside a fish or two, which was not all that bad, but carried a very strong aftertaste that she had to use a lot of water to wash away. She ate alone of course; she couldn't bear to show her disgusted face to anyone, and it was only after dinner that Shulk and the others insisted on joining her cause.

Of course, she never expected to spend the night away from Alcamoth; she probably could have squeezed her nightgown and toothbrush into her travel pouch, but had no reason to do so. As a result, she had to now try and sleep while wearing her sweat-soaked clothes, which had been too drenched during the day for the advanced meta-meterials to thin it out. It wouldn't be as bad if she had the chance to take a short swim somewhere, but without the sun to dry off with, that would have to wait until the morning. And while she knew that going one day without brushing her teeth wouldn't be the end of the world, it still left her feeling as anxious as losing a shoe.

Nervously fidgiting away under the large leaves sown together to form a blanket, Melia constantly dipped her hand into her travel pouch to check that everything was still there. The temptation was strong to use the remote to summon the Illustrious Alighting, use the return function to get back to Alcamoth, report on what happened, have a proper rest, collect several more warriors, and return in the morning to avenge her comrades and finish the mission. But it would be extremely rude to simply abandon the Homs, one of which held her attention for almost certainly being the subject of Alvis's vision, and it didn't matter how many protectors she could side with if the strongest she knew were utterly obliterated.

By the same token, she didn't really know what kind of help any number of Homs could provide, much less a ragtag group of four. They seemed quite committed to helping her out instead of leaving her be, and while she recognized that they filled roles she could never fit into, there was a distinct lack of offensive ether skills present. There was apparently going to be a Nopon too, but they'd meet him tomorrow, and she had even more trouble believing that a Nopon would do any good against a Telethia. After all, for all their big talk, most Nopon were utter pushovers.

After what seemed like forever, she finally felt like she might be going to sleep, repeating the same words in her head over and over again.

_I haven't failed yet. I have been granted a reprieve by the powers that be, to get me on my feet quicker and fight the monster earlier than otherwise possible. I don't have my protectors, but I have a point of retreat and a point to prove._

_I won't fail again._

* * *

Melia didn't get much sleep. While her dreamcatcher back home was outgunned by her strong mind, it at least helped somewhat; here in the wilderness, she faced the full force of a variety of nightmares, mostly centering around what had happened the previous day. Given that, she was somewhat surprised she didn't feel all that tired - being unconscious for a time in the middle of the day probably helped.

Sick of laying in bed stewing, she slowly and carefully clambered down to the floor. The four Homs were all either still asleep or doing a good job of faking it, and took no notice of her. With the Nopon at the front desk also still asleep, she left the Homhom Hotel without issue.

 _This is the perfect chance to give these clothes a wash._ Melia knew the closest source of water was a reservoir at the base of the village. Only a few early-rising Nopon were about, and they mostly ignored her as she stepped down the tree to reach the lake.

Leaving her staff, shoes, and travel pouch on the shore, she rushed into the water and submerged herself quickly. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't all that warm either. Struggling to stay afloat with her cape and sleeves impeding her motion, she only spent half a minute in the water before getting out and laying down to dry in the early-morning sun.

With nothing else to do while she waited to dry, she began practicing summoing aquas. Progress was quick; she felt confident that it would once again be at full power before the day was out, and she could then move to re-training Healing Gift.

_Can I really expect the Homs to provide any effective assistance with the Telethia? Shulk claims that he defeated some of its spawn, and while his friends seem to believe him, there is no evidence of it. I was not even aware that larger Telethia were capable of spawning smaller ones, though it does make a degree of sense given that they are primarily ether-based creatures, like nebulas. The question is, what is the underlying mechanism? Can it simply spawn at any time, or does it need an imputus? I would hope it is the latter, as otherwise it would just continue producing more and more enemies and become undefeatable._

_What kind of imputus could it be? The only option that comes to mind is to cast off an excess of ether. If so, its physical form must have a limited capacity for ether energy, and forcing it to absorb more than it can handle may be an effective way to terminate it. But if that's not the case, I could simply be making it stronger in the attempt. It did seem to be displeased as opposed to rejuvinated when I utilized Burst End._

_Or perhaps the imputus was its...its absorbing of...of my companions. Delayed, but turning its defeated foes into allies. That is a terrible prospect. If that is the case, it is more critical than ever for everyone to survive future encounters with it - but is this an argument for sending more or fewer fighters into the battle?_

Melia's thoughts were interrupted by a series of blurs dropping from the sky and impacting the water hard, making huge splashes.

 _What the..._ She sat up to see that the four Homs had dove into the reservoir, probably from the highest point in the village.

"Oh hi Melia!" Shulk waved. "So you took an early bath too then?" The others also acknowledged her.

"Er...yes, indeed." Melia quickly closed her eyes and laid back down. She was not okay with how much skin she had just seen, and strongly suspected that at least one of the Homs was completely naked.

She listened to them chatter as they swam around for a bit. Apparently, some Nopon had offered to make them locale-appropriate clothing, and they wanted to wash off before going to pick it up and then meeting the so-called "Heropon".

After a bit, she heard them getting out of the water and walking by.

"Have you eaten, Melia?" Dunban asked.

"No." _I suppose it is time for breakfast._

"Well, you'd better come with us, then," Reyn cut in. "We've got some new threads to pick up, then it's grub time."

"Mmm." Melia was still scared of opening her eyes, with the image of the four travellers with no regard for personal modesty still disturbingly fresh in her mind. They probably weren't actually naked, but it sure seemed so to her quick glance.

Waiting for several minutes to ensure their departure, she finally got up and started making her way back into the giant tree. Aiming for where dinner had been served yesterday, she was interrupted by a middle-aged purple Nopon.

"Bird lady wait!" she called. "Bird lady has not gone to tailorpon with Hom Homs?"

Melia was confused. "Why? I know of no reason to do so."

"Bird lady not know?" The Nopon shook her head as best as a Nopon could do. "Tailorpons offer forest clothes to Hom Homs. Hom Homs ask to include bird lady, so tailorpons make five outfits. Tailorpons always wanted to try skill at big Hom Hom clothes, so you no disappoint them! Go see tailorpons now! Then eat!"

_Oh what is this now, whose idea was this, I'm not-_

"Ah, bird lady here." A blue Nopon with thick glasses, a bag full of spools, and depth perception issues had arrived. He started bumping into Melia's legs repeatedly, unaware of how close he was. "Come, Rifirif show you his night's work."

 _Oh fine then._ Melia reluctantly started moving in the indicated direction. _I'm not putting it on though, whatever it is. And could you please cease with the "bird lady" designation? Eventually one of the Homs might catch on.  
_

Rifirif led her to what was presumably a tailorshop. Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban were already there and dressed in their new outfits, with Sharla just exiting the one Homs-sized changing hut - a tribal-looking hodgepodge of animal skins, patchy fabric, flowers, feathers, and body paint. About eight Nopon tailors were gathered around, reveling in their work.

_I can see the theme they're going for here - jungle materials with a focus on breathability. But they clearly have yet to completely understand the non-Nopon form. Look at poor Sharla, she would be better off-_

"Very nice," Sharla commented, sending the tailors into a titter. "It's a bit risqué, but once in a while you just gotta show it off, you know? And all these fluffy bits sticking out will be like heat sinks for my rifle. For a first try at something for a Homs woman, it's superb. What do you think, Melia?"

Somewhat stunned by both Sharla's reaction and the invitation to comment, Melia remained silent for a bit. "...I...er...I appreciate the consistent style across your four costumes, but it is...it is not to my personal tastes." She realized that she was staring at Shulk's exposed chest and immediately refocused on the changing hut.

Reyn ruffled the feathers of his impressive-looking headdress. "C'mon, don't be like that, you haven't even tried yours yet."

One of the tailorpons passed a bag to Rifirif, who pushed it into Melia's hands. "Rifirif much proud of his bird lady clothes. Rifirif cannot wait to see in use."

 _The worst part is, I can still imagine this day becoming even worse. Somehow._ Thoroughly dejected and unwilling to simply take the rude way out, Melia took the bag and dragged her feet as she walked into the changing hut and closed the door.

Spilling the contents of the bag out on the small table, she took stock of the various costume parts. One top-like thing, one bottom-like thing, two objects that resembled gloves, two tubes that probably went on the legs somehow, two groups of flowers tied together, and a pair of sandals. Also on the table was a couple of jars of body paint.

 _What a mess._ She held up the patterned fabric to the light. _That's a nice brooch I suppose, but the rest of it...It looks like a combination of rejects from other outfits. It's not even remotely symmetrical. My twenty-year-old self could design better clothes than this._

Immensely disgusted but seeing no alternative, she resignedly changed into the Nopon-made garments. Eventually, all that was left were the two groups of flowers. She supposed they were to be stuck in her hair somehow, but as this would require removing her moisture headdress and revealing her wings to the Homs, she refused to do so. She had to keep _some_ shred of dignity intact.

Carefully rolling her actual clothes up and packing them into the bag, she looked in the mirror. _I've seen homeless people dressed better than this, and now I have to show myself to complete strangers in it._ Crossing arms to hide her exposed belly, she gingerly stepped outside.

Dunban was first to comment. "You sure don't seem comfortable with it. It's written all over your face."

"It looks good though," added Shulk. "What do you think?"

"...I remain of the opinion that, while stylistically successful, it is not to my preference."

The Nopon tailors looked a bit down about the response, but seemed to understand it was a personal issue, and not something they did wrong.

"Don't fret it," Sharla said. "Everyone's dealt with that one outfit once in their lives. If it really bugs you that much, you can just change back after breakfast, alright?"

 _Why should I wait- no, don't be that forceful. Don't upset them into retracting their offer to help._ "I believe I will. To breakfast, then."

* * *

The journey through the forest to find the Telethia was proceeding. Whether it was proceeding well or poorly couldn't really be distunguished. But at the very least, Heropon Riki thought he had a lead, and was guiding the rest of the party towards it.

Melia wasn't really feeling all that much different from yesterday. She still felt massively out of place among the group of Homs, and it was tricky to practice Healing Gift when on the move. Riki was an entertaining person to be around, but she could just tell that he would eventually do something or other to blow her cover, and Riki was having more fun talking with the Homs than with her. Mercifully, the weather was a bit cooler, just enough so that her re-donned clothes could deal with the sweat without issue.

The trek itself was much more of a pain. There was no path towards where Riki was leading them, meaning they had to walk through the wild jungle and avoid a wide selection of massive beasts. Crossing a river with no bridge would have been the worst part, but Melia got a reprieve - before she could figure out how to navigate the chest-deep waters without being taken by the current or ruining her shoes, Reyn picked her up and carried her to the other side. It was both relieving and jarring, to be carted around so easily without difficulty nor permission by a complete stranger.

Aside from that one segment, there wasn't much for Melia to do during the walk aside from think. Riki had shown himself to be quite a good fighter in dispatching the few creatures they couldn't avoid, showing equal ability in both physical and ether combat, as well as an exceptional amount of endurance for a Nopon. He seemed to have a bit of trouble attracting enemy attention - he just couldn't present himself as a threat compared to a Homs - but otherwise seemed like a good candidate for helping defeat a Telethia.

_Perhaps Riki was not chosen as Heropon solely for his debt after all. It is a very small sample size, but he is the most capable Nopon fighter I have ever seen._

There were other things to think about, of course. Melia still had no effective access to half her elementals nor Reflection, which left her with no way to protect against incoming damage. If the battle were to turn sour, it felt like there was a very good chance it would end badly much faster than the previous day's. After all, none of the four Homs had more than one ether attack. Shulk didn't even have any at all, to her knowledge. It was difficult to have confidence in such a group having a chance against a Telethia, even one that might not have fully recovered from the previous day's fight. The only hope they had, as she could see it, was a successful Mind Blast - which she couldn't practice on a whim, and still had to survive long enough to build up.

Then again, Shulk was adamant about the claim that he had killed three smaller Telethia, and from his description of them they weren't infants like the one she had dispatched by herself. Yet he had shown no evidence in the battles they had fought that he even knew any ether attacks. It was a boggling mismatch.

Of course, the strangest thing about Shulk wasn't even related to any of that at all: he claimed that he was having visions of the future, some of which involved her. She initially dismissed these claims as flatly impossible - only Alvis and his bloodline were capable of foresight, and there was no way some random Homs from a lower colony could be related. But every now and then he would call out a specific incoming enemy attack in a battle, and he was correct every time without fail, with his friends using the information to divert the attack or halt it altogether. The more it happened, the less likely it could simply be luck. Having foresight would certainly be a massive asset against a Telethia - but two precognitive opponents seemed to cause a paradox, where both would enter an infinite loop of reading the foe's action and changing their next action to suit. It felt like neither would have a true advantage over the other.

"What is this?" Riki's voice roused her from her thoughts. "Riki never see before!"

The group was approaching an enormous fire ether crystal deposit, the biggest one in the forest by far. But something was very wrong with the surrounding landscape: all the plants nearby were the same lifeless shade of grey.

"This not Riki's Makna! Riki never see before!" The view was clearly quite upsetting; he was jottering around like mad.

"To think it has caused this much damage." Melia spoke mostly to herself, but said it out loud simply to inform the others that the relative expert among them was equally disturbed. She had known it was possible for a large Telethia to do this, but it was more of a theoretical conclusion than a known certainty. Seeing it firsthand was something else.

Sharla looked quizzical. "What do you mean?"

Dunban seemed equally incredulous. "Are you telling me the Telethia did this?" He glanced down towards his right arm, as if he was confused as to why it hadn't suffered a similar colourless fate.

 _Yes, what else would it be?_ "Telethia absorb and drain the surrounding area of all its ether." _Which means it must be close by; it wouldn't simply leave a crystal deposit this large._

Shulk raised a finger of conclusion. "That's it! The Telethia is sucking up all the ether, which is causing the natural environment to change." His hand naturally landed on his chin as he considered what this could mean.

 _Thank you, Captain Obvious._ Melia mentally slapped the automatic insult out of her head. Homs science was eons behind her people's, so of course this would be a relevation as opposed to a decently-widely-known fact. To be honest, she didn't know if Homs knew of Telethia in general. Still, Shulk was beginning to wander off a bit, clearly distracted by whatever he was thinking about. He needed to be given a reminder.

"Shulk, the Telethia can read your mind. Expect it to know what you will do before you do it."

Shulk snapped back to attention and turned to face her. "I know. I'll aim for its antenna and stop its ability to read my thoughts. With the Monado at our side, it doesn't stand a chance."

Melia knew that Shulk was confident, but didn't expect such a foregone battle plan. _Shulk has only met Telethia once, and they were merely the spawn. So why is he so sure of himself? Is it confidence or a trust in something?_ "It is much more powerful than its offspring. Do not expect it to fall so easily."

"I won't." He glanced towards the weapon on his back. "But we have to trust in the Monado."

_Yes. It is trust. He trusts in the power of that sword. What did he say it was called? The Monado? I see...that name seems familiar for some reason. Wait, what's that sound?  
_

A dissonant roar was coming out of the sky and increasing in volume. Just a few seconds later, the Telethia could be seen approaching from the direction they had came from.

Reyn was the first to say something as everyone prepared their weapons. "Stick together everyone."

"Dinobeast! Big as Riki imagined!" Riki hopped around as he fumbled with his biter. Perhaps "fumbled" was not the right word, as he had no problem taking hold of it, but everything he did had a strong appearance of uncontrollable randomness to it.

"The Telethia!" Melia looked up as it circled around the drained landscape. Further words flowed without thought. "I take this chance to bring vengeance for my brethren and fulfill my duty! Shulk! I will trap it and cease its movement. Strike when the time is right!"

"Melia!" Shulk called towards her as she dashed towards the beast.

She stopped at a convenient location to cut off the enemy. It was still circling quite fast, as if it was observing the group more than wishing to fight.

Seeing the Telethia up close brought back the memories of the previous day's battle even stronger than before. It again felt like her companions had been killed just seconds ago. She could feel the emotions building up, and the instinct was to direct them through her staff again, but that would not be the right answer this time.

Melia closed her eyes in concentration as she siphoned the feelings out of her chest and into her hand. There was quite a bit more ammunition available than the previous day's attempt at using a burst art without a burst aura: in addition to just the rage and shock of her friends' deaths, there was the fear of failure in front of the Homs and the indignation of being forced to spend a night in the wilderness. Combined, it was no longer a last-ditch attempt to survive, but a directed charge of pure revenge.

" _Be still!_ "

She unloaded the golden energy in the Telethia's direction. Unable to avoid the cone of ether, it lost momentum and tumbled to the ground.

 _I'm not sure how you didn't see that one coming. I didn't exactly make it hard to guess._ She could feel the vitriol drip from her mental words just like the ether was dripping from her hand. She wondered if Telethia were capable of reading inner monologues in the same way they could read minds.

But that didn't matter. Yesterday gave her an inkling, and she had just now confirmed it: mass amounts of emotion allowed her to unleash burst arts without needing to have a burst aura active. It was a trump card she'd have to be careful not to abuse, lest she grow too accustomed to the feeling and subsequently be unable to drum up enough emotion in the future.

Melia watched Riki bash the Telethia in the toe. Her successful Mind Blast already had her in a much better position than yesterday. It was time to fight it for real.


	24. Cryptic

It was an immense relief for Melia to finally return to her chambers and throw herself down onto the mattress. After never missing a night of sleeping in her own bed her whole life, being unable to for just two nights felt like two months. Even then, she couldn't stay lying down for more than a few minutes. Having been outside for the better part of three days, she absolutely had to go sit in the shower for half an hour, followed by re-braiding her hair, filing her nails, thoroughly cleaning her teeth and ears, and all sorts of other upkeep that had built up faster than usual in the wilderness.

With her hygiene fixed, her mind was now free to do whatever it felt like. And unsurprisingly, it immediately gravitated towards the most pivotal thing that had happened since she returned to Alcamoth: She had been chosen as her father's successor.

It was a mind-boggling relevation that defied all logic. From the moment she could understand what an emperor was, she had been told that it was to be Kallian's role. He was the first-born, he was the pureblood, he was a popular figure, and most importantly he had support from all three parents. It falling to her was always a possibility, but not one that anyone appeared to ever seriously consider, especially herself. Yet it had to have been considered for a substantial amount of time. Otherwise, there would have been an uproar in the hall when Sorean mentioned it, by simply stating it to be the case as opposed to making an announcement about it. But instead, there was either support or silence. No one disagreed with the decision enough to react to it, let alone voice it, not even Kallian himself.

In her mind, this last point was the most confusing. Kallian had spent his entire life being brought up as the next emperor, and he explicitly supports his half-blood sister getting it instead? Even disregarding his extra sixty-three years of life experience, he was superior to her in every conceivable way relevant to being a ruler; there was absolutely nothing she could think of that she did better than him. It was completely baseless, dumbfounding, flabbergasting, and a whole bunch of other words that flickered around in her mind, too disorganized to be understood.

As the storm in Melia's head started to die down a bit - it was kind of exhausting thinking in circles - she found a tiny nugget of sense in the past. If Kallian was already a shoe-in for emperor, why did she have to keep her face hidden long after reaching adulthood? The whole mask and headdress getup had multiple purposes (as she had looked up not long ago): protect half-blooded children from yet another avenue of derision, act as an important element of certain ascension ceremonies and rituals, and hide an empress's face from the public until after marriage. There was no reason to be told to continue wearing it unless there was the slightest chance she could be successor.

Other implications of the decision started to come to the forefront. It was strange enough to write her aunt's and father's names in dates and see their faces minted on every coin; she didn't know if she could stand the feeling of having herself put there. She didn't want to have to sit in the Audience Chamber every day and be expected to have the final say in any decision, regardless of whether a second opinion was available. She didn't want to be the one making the speeches to the public, or choosing which side to upset in a debate where both sides are correct, or trying to find consorts-

The realization sparked anxiety. Kallian was the one with all the suaveness and established "most desireable bachelor" status, yet it was her that was now supposed to be looking for people to marry. She had always been relieved that it would be Kallian stuck with the duty of picking out a First Consort from the huge mob of suitors, followed by foraging down to the Homs colonies to find a Second. But suddenly it was now to be her, the least qualified person in the universe, who as far as she knew had never generated any romantic feelings for anyone anywhere. Even purely platonic friendship was an alien sensation - the closest relationship she could consider having such feeling was that with her cadre, which even now was too painful to think about.

For some reason, Shulk's image appeared at the front of her mind. Shulk, the one who went out of his way to collect the crystals necessary to revive a complete stranger, who tried his hardest to integrate her into the group of Homs and feel more at ease, who provided the most help with the Telethia both in battle and in spirit. She tried to dismiss the thought with a shake, but it remained stuck in place, filling her mind with his clumsy yet endearing mannerisms. To make it go away, she would have to indulge it.

_Yes, subconscious mind, there is indeed more fondness there than the average I have for any one person. But to make such an important decision on such a trivial feeling is illogical._

_Though I suppose love and romance and etcetera are rather explicitly anti-logical concepts. And the seer's vision..._

_No. The First Consort must always come first._

_Hang on, what are the rules for two consorts of half-blooded rulers? Neither pairing would produce pure-blood children. In fact, this would mean that no matter what action is taken, the imperial family could never be pure-blooded again. Surely that is not the intent of the two-consort system.  
_

_...Wait. They would be_ my _children._

 _That means_ I _would..._

 _And_ that _means..._

Melia grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be a bedpost, and tried to squeeze her newfound panic out of it. Being an empress would be enough of a tax on her life without motherhood on top of it, not to mention that just thinking about the whole process of producing children left her sick to her stomach.

After about four or five minutes of frenzied alarm, she managed to regain control of herself by finding a glimmer of hope: she may very well be infertile, just like her aunt was. It was beyond unlikely, but if it was a genetic issue the chances would be up, and she could fob the duty off onto Kallian where it belongs. Ever since her aunt's case, a fertility test was mandated upon choosing a successor - she didn't know what it would entail, or when it would be administered, but maybe she could intentionally fail it.

_No, absolutely not. That would be immoral of the highest order, regardless of how much the alternative would ruin everything, and depending on what the test is could be easily detected as fraud. All I can do is hope for the best. Who knows, maybe I'm ineligible for producing heirs anyway due to being half-blooded; this is a never-before-seen case and perhaps I can set the precedent.  
_

With a tiny seed of hope that the worst might not come to pass, her mindset started to turn more positive. What were the _good_ parts of being empress? She could set the kitchens' menu, minimizing the odds of receiving something untasty for meals. She would still have to listen to her parents, but she could just turn around and proceed to completely ignore them. She would be informed about all the seer's visions immediately. She could finally get rid of that blasted third-floor staircase. She could order the tailors to start making clothes that actually reliably covered her entire body. She could set her own daily schedule, moving tennis from one day to another or dropping it altogether. She could set _other_ people's schedules.

_All this may be true, but it is overall rather petty and frivolous. I can't think of anything that is both positive and substantial. There's still no good to come of this decision from my viewpoint._

_My best hope may be the timeframe. Father simply mentioned this in passing with no given plan; as far as I can tell nothing official has been done at this time. He still has the opportunity to change his mind and make the correct choice. It would be immoral to force him to do so by setting out to ruin my reputation in public...but if I simply begin failing at tasks he sets me...no, that's not acceptable either._

_Why does it seem like he never sets Brother any tasks like he does me? Because he's already proven himself as the prime candidate. Why go through the trouble of forcing me to challenge him when you can just give him the throne with no regrets?_

After frustratingly pacing around in circles for several minutes, once again trying to make sense of her father's decision, she flopped back into bed exhausted. No answers were forthcoming, she probably wouldn't get any answers from anyone, and there was absolutely no way her words alone could change anyone's minds. Her only real hope was that common sense prevail before anything official proceed.

_How long am I likely to have before the decision would be set in stone? Father is a perfectly healthy 320; he must have at least twenty or thirty years remaining. That is plenty of time for him to come to his senses. It's possible he may contract an incurable illness before then, but depending on its nature he may be declared unfit to make the decision if the process has not yet commenced, and Mother would most certainly give the throne to Brother._

_Given that, there's no sense in worrying too much now. I need to clear my head of all this._ With that, Melia attempted to have a nap.

She didn't get much time to sleep. After about half an hour - though it only felt like five minutes - there was a knock on the door. Grumbling and stumbling, she shuffed over to open it. To her great surprise, it was Captain Denzel.

The captain wasted no time. "The emperor requests your presence, Lady Melia."

A large dose of foul thoughts arose in her mind, frustrated that she wasn't afforded sufficient rest after completing a momumental task. With a stiff and neutral face, she wordlessly followed Denzel back to the Audience Chamber.

The hall looked mostly the same as the day when she was ordered to go after the Telethia, though a bit less tense. The rest of the royal family was gathered near the throne, giving off the impression that they had been discussing something immediately before she arrived. Alvis was also present, which reminded her that he was supposed to "interrogate" Shulk and the other Homs. This made her feel a bit less sour at being roped back out of her room - maybe he had just reported on their trustworthiness.

Sorean began immediately after Melia kneeled down. "Melia Antiqua. Mere hours ago, I revealed to you my intent to declare you my successor. After all you have been through in the past few days, I am sure you did not grasp the full import of this decision immediately. But now that you have had some time to yourself, to rest and regroup, tell me what you say to my choice."

Melia looked up with a purpose. This felt like it would be her one and only chance to change her father's mind. She had to get it perfect.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, I feel you are committing a grave mistake. The public yearns for the succession of Prince Kallian, who is more able than I in all aspects relevant to ruling Alcamoth, over six decades more experienced and wise, flawless in battle alongside any allies, and most importantly, capable of selecting the most suitable consorts and contining the pure-blood imperial line. To say that I outshine him in any possible way is simple ignorance."

She hung her head back down towards the floor, believing she had fit in everything she needed to spell out, trying to be frank without being rude.

The expectation was there to be a long silence, with perhaps some worried muttering or exasperated sighs. She did not expect Sorean to simply continue as if he expected such a response.

"I respect your words. They come from a mind born of the Second Consort, raised as the second child, and trained as the second heir. And you have simply accepted this position without debate, without a hint of lament or envy. But to be empress is not a position given to whoever arrives first. It is bestowed upon those who understand the issues that face our society, who have an empathy with the public and its needs, and who have proven themselves to do what needs to be done, even at great risk to themselves. And it is under these tenants that Kallian is of no equal to you. He would make a fine ruler indeed - but you shall be a far greater one."

_I...suppose that's it then. If he was prepared in advance for me to balk, there is nothing I can do to change his mind. I can only hope that some other event in the near future forces him to reconsider, before any part of the process is begun._

There were footsteps. Melia looked up to see Sorean walking behind the throne and taking the Imperial Staff from its perch.

 _No. No, no, no, no no no no no nonononono, stop, don't do it, put it back, get away from me-_ She had no choice but to remain still, her eyes screwed shut in terror, as he approached and began speaking in Hightongue.

"Melia Aquila Victoria Yolanda Antiqua, First Princess, daughter of Emperor Sorean and the late Second Consort Clara, multi-generational ethermistress and slayer of Telethia." He rested the head of the Imperial Staff on her right shoulder, which felt a lot heavier than it looked. "It is with great pride and joy that I anoint you as the successor to the imperial line. When the day comes that I can no longer perform my duties, whether through death, infirmity, or simple choice, it shall be you who ascends to the throne as Empress of Alcamoth." He moved the staff to the other shoulder. "May the forefathers look fondly upon this moment, upon our bright future, and upon Empress Melia!"

Applause filled the hall. Eyes still jammed shut, Melia couldn't tell exactly what its extent was, but it felt like it was coming from every person present. It also felt like the staff still on her shoulder had gotten a fair bit lighter, though it seemed the weight simply moved to her heart.

Once the applause died down, Sorean lifted the Imperial Staff and placed it back where it belonged, before continuing to speak in Common. "All who are present have acknowledged this monumental occasion, but those of the public and those who have passed have yet to. As one of mixed race and unexpected anointment, you must seek the approval of the people and the ancestors before you can set upon this path. Therefore, I lay the Trial of the Tomb before you. Its successful completion will secure you the respect of all of Alcamoth, living and dead. What say you?"

Melia knew pretty much all that needed to be known about the Trial of the Tomb: no one knew what it involved, but whatever it was, it was quite deadly. Whether it could be any deadlier than a full-sized Telethia was questionable, but at least she had a lot of help with the Telethia. The trial would be undertaken alone.

_I have absolutely no desire to continue along this path. But as usual, I am given only the illusion of choice._

"I accept." _Look up, to fake confidence._ "If I am to lead the High Entia despite my mixed heritage...If I am to succeed the throne, then I accept what must be done."

Sorean presented a broad smile. "I expect nothing less of my successor. The path to greatness is fraught with danger. This shall be your statement to Bionis."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Melia remained still. It wasn't the first time she felt like she was accepting the task of walking into certain death, but at least the previous ones all had an element of necessity or heroism to them. Attempting to claim a throne she did not want was not worth risking her life for.

"You shall begin the trial tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. The announcement will be made to the public at nine-thirty." Sorean took a deep breath. "That will be all."

Melia nodded wordlessly and turned to leave, feeling soundly defeated in every possible way.

* * *

Melia read the nameplate set into the door: "Mr. Reddel". It occurred to her that she had no idea what her ether instructor's first name was, despite being tutored by him for over twenty years. Of course, this was hardly a proper time to ask; his office hours ended in about five minutes, and it might take that long to get her more important question answered.

She pressed the doorbell, which could be heard outside the office as a muffled two-note chime. She'd never had any reason to visit the offices of the various combat instructors before, so it made her a bit skittish.

After about twenty seconds, the door faded away to reveal Reddel. His serious expression vanished quickly once he realized who it was.

"Ah, Melia! This is a pleasant surprise. Come in." He gestured inside emphatically.

Melia nervously placed herself in the guest chair as Reddel took a set at his desk, which was covered in handwritten notes about ether physics. Several certificates dotted the walls, while an important-looking document was open on the computer screen.

"I'm sorry I couldn't congratulate you earlier on vanquishing that Telethia, but as you can see I've been a bit busy recently," Reddel began. "And I also heard you are to take on the Trial of the Tomb tomorrow, which...honestly, I'm rooting for you all the way. Your exceptional skill will see you though whatever's in store. But I imagine you've come here with a question. What is it?"

Melia nodded. "Indeed. When I was in the forest fighting the Telethia, I was afflicted with a very severe case of ether deficiency."

Reddel's brow furrowed. "Really? I can't say I'm too surprised, the creatures can be quite dangerous in that regard...but how severe? You seem alright at first glance."

"I was rendered unconscious for several hours, only awoken by a very strong dispersed healing round by an ether rifle. And even now, I have difficulty with several ether arts, most proimently those learned most recently. I fear that I am too handicapped to complete the trial."

"Hmmm." Reddel passed his hand over Melia's head a few times. Apparently not finding what he was looking for, he took a cylindrical instrument out of a drawer and did the same again. "...Yes, I do sense some lingering effects of deficiency. Would you say you have had some mood issues since this incident?"

"...Perhaps. It is difficult to tell, as I feel I have yet to find myself in a normal situation since."

"Ah, I see. Yes, being in a continual state of emotional upheaval will slow the recovery process." Reddel scratched his chin. "Given that, I'm sorry to say that I don't have any advice for you. If you cannot have a few days of uninterrupted rest, it may take weeks to reach your pre-deficient potential."

 _That's what I was afraid of._ "I see. Thank you for your counsel regardless." Melia stood up and turned to leave.

"Good luck, Melia." The sentence felt surprisingly distant, as if betraying Reddel's worry.

* * *

The nature of the Tomb was generally considered an imperial secret; the public knew little about it other than "the dead royals go there". But the truth was a bit weirder: not even the imperial family themselves knew much about it. It had its own control nexus of unknown origin that oversaw the placement of new arrivals and kept its dronautic security forces operational, in addition to administering the Trial when necessary, but aside from that any knowledge of its layout and mechanisms seemed to be lost to history. There was no need or interest to attempt exploring or deconstructing it - it did well enough on its own without interference, and no one wanted to take the risk of upsetting any fine balances it may have curated.

Melia cautiously walked down the hallway following her verification, constantly turning her head to look around. Technically, she only had to possess the Empress Mask and its accompanying headdress during the trial, but to carry it around seemed like even more of a hindrance than simply wearing the assembly. Besides, it wasn't the kind of potential loophole worth toying with. For all she knew, the ancient spirits would be offended by such antics.

Eventually, the hallway came to an end, leading into an impressive sight. The circular walls of the massive room were covered with hundreds of stone slabs, each one inscripted with glowing runes in the ancient alphabet. There was no floor; the room simply continued downwards towards seemingly infinity. In the middle of the room was a pillar, the only real feature aside from the small ledge she was standing on, which had the High Entia emblem carved into it. Another door was distantly visible on the opposite side of the room.

Melia didn't need to look over the edge to gather that it was an insurmountable drop. The total blackness and feeling of hopelessness the pit radiated was enough of an indicator.

 _I presume I need to get to the central pillar somehow._ There was no visible means of doing so; the gap was far too wide to jump, and all the blocks on the walls were layered downwards, leaving no footholds - not that climbing around the walls would lead towards the centre anyways.

Melia recalled what Kallian had said about the trial just after breakfast. Knowledge of what exactly the trial contained was intentionally left to fade into history, so as to remain an unknown challenge. But one rock-solid fact that had been passed down through the ages was that the trial was fair. There would be no obstacles or challenges that could only be overcome with prior knowledge of them, there would be no hidden tricks or traps unaccompanied by obvious warning signs, and food and sleep would be provided if necessary (though via unknown means). The trial was not about attempting to kill the candidate and admitting success to the survivors; it was about testing their abilities and ensuring that only the best could ascend to the throne. The fact that failure and death seemed to be inseperable was attributed to an assumption that those who did not succeed would rather join the dead than return with dishonour.

Yet despite that knowledge, it sure seemed like she had no way to proceed. Unless she had missed something blatantly obvious, she had come to a dead end pretty much immediately. The only real way of crossing the massive gap would be if she could fly-

 _...oh._ There it was. All she had to do was simply fly across the pit to reach the pillar. It would take no more than ten seconds, something that even a complete novice at flight could accomplish if they wanted it bad enough. But of course, it was impossible for half-bloods with small wings.

Melia knew that no half-blood had ever returned from the Trial of the Tomb before, but she figured it was just because they had been sent in as a way to dispose of them; most of them had been sent to the trial by bitter parents who expected and desired them to fail and vanish. Very few were legitimate succession candidates, and even then the records showed that it was their choice and not the parents' to undertake the ritual, attempting to prove themselves better than their pure-blooded sibling. She certainly wasn't part of the second category, and refused to believe she was part of the first - her father was not that kind of person.

Or was he? The self-doubt started to creep in. Kallian seemed far too indifferent to it being announced that he wouldn't be emperor next, despite him being taught for pretty much his whole life that it would be him no questions asked. And why would her father have sent her on all these dangerous missions if-

 _No, stop it._ She violently shook her head. _There is no ulterior motive to his actions. He made his decision, for whatever unfathomable reason, and I'm not going to disappoint him._ She looked back across the expanse. _But would he have sent me here if he knew about this obstable?_

Starting to fidget, Melia began pacing around the small platform, poking and prodding the floor and reachable walls, blindly trying to locate a hidden switch or button that could achieve something. Nothing of the sort could be found. All the while, the emptiness of the pit continued to well up, filling more and more of her mind with a lingering sense of dread. What was she supposed to do? Return to her father and raise a stink about the trial being racist? Walk across an invisible platform that only exists when it is believed to? Or accept failure, recognizing that the ancestors explicitly do not want half-blooded rulers, and throw herself into the nothingness?

 _I need to clear my head._ Melia moved to retreat to the previous hallway, just to get away from the pit and its negative influence for a few minutes.

But the door refused to admit her passsage; it remained completely solid as she approached it, not allowing her to leave the room. She was trapped on the ledge.

_Okay I guess I won't. Some "fair" this is if...actually, this could be part of the trial, the ability to think clearly when under the influence of oppressive circumstances. But this isn't exactly a situation where thinking does anything, is it?_

Restless, she switched between standing up and sitting down for several minutes, not really accomplishing anything beyond thinking herself in circles. It was looking more and more like her only option was to jump into the pit, which unless the solution to the puzzle was blind faith, would most certainly result in death. Panic was starting to set in.

_~lp~_

Melia's head sank into her hands. She was hearing things now, a sure sign of madness, probably from all the negative energy the pit was radiating.

__~er~*-#~pl~_~_ _ _  
_

It was...almost like someone was whispering, actually. Or a bunch of someones, all whispering from so far away that only a few syllables could be heard. She figured it was some remnant or artifact of all the spirits within the tomb.

_~elp~-\=~+/~le~-~%~us~*~#=~_

"...quiet." She didn't expect the whispering to stop, but it would be nice to hear her own voice for a change - if it didn't seem so flat and lifeless from the room's deadening acoustics.

To her surprise, the whispering did indeed stop. But after a few seconds it started back up again, louder and less intelligible than before, originating from everywhere at once.

Melia figured that if the voices could understand speech, they could be worth talking to; maybe having a definite conversation would cause their speech to converge on something understandable, and perhaps might have a hint at how to proceed. She took a few moments to put something together before shouting into the void.

"Voices of the esteemed ancestors! My way forward in this trial is impassable for no reason other than my Homs heritage. Why would we continue the practice of Second Consorts if such children are tainted in your eyes? Do the forefathers truly believe that a ruler's genes matter more than their mind and will?"

The whispering stopped again, and did not return. After about twenty seconds, the seal carved into the floor lit up yellow, followed by a golden bridge of light appearing between the ledge and the central pillar.

Melia collapsed to the floor in relief that she had cracked the puzzle. _Speaking out against half-blood oppression was the key. A half-blood who simply accepts their fate when confronted with discrimination would never be a viable ruler._

After taking a moment to collect herself - the pit wasn't nearly as ominous now that the solution was present - she carefully crossed the bridge. While it looked like a suspended yellow liquid, it felt more like glass and didn't actually undulate underfoot. Upon reaching the central pillar, the bridge faded away.

It was relatively obvious that Melia had to stand in the middle of the pillar, given the overall design of the patterns on the floor. Once she did so, a drone appeared in a flash of light, shaped vaguely like a handheld mirror.

_It's some sort of Andos. Low-threat sentry drone, only true strength is in numbers._

She waited for the Andos to make the first move - a telegraphed swing with its left "arm". Now certain that she was to fight it, she backed away and unloaded several elementals into it. It only lasted fifteen seconds before collapsing, spilling liquid ice ether over the floor. Another yellow bridge appeared, allowing access to the ledge on the far side of the room.

 _That was easy. A bit suspiciously easy, in fact._ Melia searched through the drone's remains to see if she was supposed to collect anything of it, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. _Well, if the intent is to test combat ability, it is sensible to start small. After all, the greatest emperors are thinkers and leaders, not necessarily fighters._

Satisfied that she was not missing anything, she proceeded across the second bridge, which led her through another hallway. She slowed her pace as she moved through the hall, ensuring that she did not glance over anything that could possibly be important. There was nothing of the sort, and it didn't take long for the hall to end.

The second major room was very much like the first: a massive cylinder with a central pillar lodged in a pit of emptiness. The main difference was that the entrance ledge wrapped around half of the walls, resulting in having a choice of turning left or right to access one of the two lightbridges that led inwards.

 _What's the challenge here?_ Melia walked around the outside edge both ways and found no difference between the two paths. _A red herring? Why have two paths if they are identical?_ She cautiously crossed one of the bridges into the middle, grateful she didn't have to make a speech for each one to appear.

This time, once she reached the centre, two drones appeared, both shaped like a stack of discs with various auxiliary flaps.

 _A pair of Astas. Weaker structurally, but with more ether firepower than an Andos._ It was simple to force one Astas into sleep mode while she whaled on the other one, careful not to wake the first up in the process. The whole battle took less than a minute, including a few cathartic staff blows at the end.

 _Trivial. Complete child's play._ She looked forward, with the bridge already beckoning her to proceed. _Two battles of zero difficulty and one cerebral challenge that a pureblood can simply skip. If it's been this easy so far, how long is it going to be? Surely the trial is not composed of nothing but simple tasks.  
_

Even more carefully and cautiously than before, Melia continued forward. The third hallway was virtually identical to the previous two, with a disturbing lack of any notable features. At this point, it felt like the trial was going to be a massive series of battles and puzzles, snaking through dozens of indistinguishable rooms and halls, slowly rising in difficulty along the way. But the tomb was only so large, and it seemed wasteful to devote so much space to such a rare ceremony. Something wasn't adding up.

The third hallway opened up into a smaller room, with architecture that made it extremely obvious that this was the ancestral altar, and that the trial finished here.

Melia was extremely confused. _What? That's it? Impossible. No, something else is at play here. It can't be over already. I have yet to really do anything of importance, aside from speaking out to get the bridges to appear. That can't possibly be it...can it?  
_

She searched around the room a bit. There didn't seem to be anything of note, aside from the spot in the middle where she was clearly supposed to go, and the door stopped her from backtracking.

_This trial is known through history as dangerous, and proven to have killed many capable candidates. Yet if this is indeed the end, it has posed absolutely no challenge whatsoever. How can this discrepancy be solved? The obvious case is that it is not over, and this room is a trick - but with no hints of such, that would seem to violate the implication that the trial is fair. A second possibility is that my skill in combat is far beyond what is expected of an empress, and that the drones are indeed supposed to be a legitimate threat. I would call that reasonably likely, given that I am indeed a generational talent with ether, but two battles still seems rather few. What could a third possibility be...?  
_

Melia stood and thought for a few minutes, but couldn't come up with any further theories as to why the trial seemed so easy. Eventually she simply shrugged.

_As easy as the trial itself might have been, I still await judgement by whatever system is installed in this chamber. Given that I was effectively granted permission to proceed this far, I cannot assume that I will fail simply due to being half-blooded. But if it is in any way aware that Brother exists, that would certainly be grounds for an automatic refusal. If the judgement involves a test of knowledge or intelligence, I would probably succeed. I'm not sure what other criteria could be relevant.  
_

_If I am refused, which I cannot see as anything but the most logical option, I am perfectly content to return to the palace with dishonour. As with all major imperial business, the entirety of Father's speeches and my rebuttal were enscribed into history automatically, and so it will be known that it was his choice and not mine to partake in the trial. The dishonour will be attributed to his actions, not mine. My name will be sullied for a few generations at most._

Prepared for her judgement, Melia stepped forward.

* * *

Alvis motioned towards the exit. "It is time for us to depart."

Everyone acknowledged him and started walking back towards the outside world.

With her newly-ensealed mask under her arm, Melia led the way through the halls and across the lightbridges, careful to ensure the latter remained active for everyone else's passage. She would put the mask back on once they reached the entrance; it was a nice change of pace to have just the headdress on for a bit. It was tricky enough to fight weak drones with the mask on; trying to fight both an assassin and a massive Telethia was a real pain. But all things considered, it went quite well. There was some new information to sort out, like what exactly the ancestral simulation meant and the assassin's claimed allegiance to Yumea, but for now she would just enjoy the victory.

Melia noticed that Alvis was carrying an old black book. "Seer, what do you have there?"

Alvis held the book out to her, revealing that it also had a pair of glasses clipped to the back cover. "Perhaps Shulk is most suited to explain."

"Oh, um, yeah. So while we were fighting through the security drones down there, we found what looked kind of like a treasury. After a fight inside, the biggest drone collapsed into a container and this spilled out. And then it closed itself back up. We couldn't just leave it laying around, so we decided to take it with us."

"I see." Melia took hold of the book. It didn't feel all that old, though of course the tomb was designed for preserving its contents. The single word _KOR_ was emblazoned across the front, with the spine revealing the author was a Flanery Jostier.

 _Hold a moment._ "This book remains currently in publication. I have seen it at bookstores as recently as two months ago." She recalled giving it a look only to decide on something else. But now that she knew that it had been around for quite some time, her interest in it spiked. She flipped it over to read the faded words on the back cover: _Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of...KOR_

Shulk looked pretty guilty about his decision. "If you want us to put it back, then-"

"N-No, that is not necessary. Royals of the past would sometimes have their favoured possessions placed within the tomb, with the intent that a descendant would eventually find and put use to them."

"Riki is reliefed. Riki put use to many Tasty Sausages that he found lying aroud. Riki happy that he was okay to take."

 _I'm not sure I want to know what that's about._ Melia slid the light-framed glasses free of the book to investigate. They seemed to be non-prescription, with a slight reddish tint to the lenses. A pair of small electric gems were set into the tips of the earpieces.

"I shall have these glasses appraised in order to confirm my suspicion that they host the equivalent of a rank five offensive ether gem. If they do not impede vision, they should be a useful tool."

"Why don't you try them on then?" suggested Sharla.

"...I suppose I can." Melia cautiously placed the glasses onto her face. The lenses indeed did not affect her vision, but the red blanket they covered the world in was strong enough to be annoying.

"I would not wear these at all times; the tinted lenses are too strong for everyday use. But perhaps as preparation for a battle that is known in advance. Of course, that is merely my opinion; anyone else is free to use them." She placed the glasses back into the book.

As the group approaced the exit, Melia placed the mask back onto her face. It was probably her imagination, but it seemed notably lighter and less visually restrictive than before.

Alvis motioned for her to stop. "I believe you should wait for us to have fully departed before you yourself exit the tomb. You entered alone, and thus should exit alone."

She nodded. "That is a reasonable suggestion. Thank you, Seer. If I may make one of my own, I would like everyone currently present to be allowed back into the tomb for any reason. If Shulk and his friends intend to continue their quest against the Mechon, I wish to allow them access to any further useful items that they may find inside."

"I shall do what I can, Your Majesty."

The use of a new title was unexpected. It was also probably technically incorrect. But as the others left her alone again, Melia realized that Alvis's use of the term "crown princess" in his vision about Shulk was indeed true. And depending on what exactly she was supposed to do about consorts...maybe it was a prophecy of marriage after all.

* * *

Melia sat in a chair on the balcony of the Imperial Villa. It was something she'd started doing over the past few months whenever she felt a change of scenery would be beneficial for her mental state - something which was sorely needed now.

It was an impossibly unbelievable sequence of events. Standing in front of the public to overwhelming cheers. Yumea, her biggest family adversary, locked away for the forseeable future, admitting to being part of the thought-extinct though still-thoroughly-illegal Bionite Order. Kallian swearing to pour his full effort into searching the vast imperial texts to find what, if any, provisions for half-blooded rulers existed. Sorean declaring that she were free of duties aside from the applicable ceremonies until everything was completed - after which she would ascend to the throne immediately, without waiting for the current emperor's death. It was still quite a nonsensical decision in her eyes, but it had to have some degree of merit if the tomb's ancestral simulation agreed with it.

It was this fact that sparked a minor realization. As empress, one of her first tasks would be to decode the most ancient texts to obtain the critical and critically secret information hidden within, with no help allowed from anyone. Expecting it to be a very tough job, she might buy a few months to ease into her new position, with both her father and brother available to cover for her other duties during that time. And of course she had always wanted to know what could possibly be hidden in such texts that only one person at a time was allowed to know. Maybe there could be something that would explain why someone like her had been selected over someone like Kallian - a long shot to be sure, but still very possible.

In fact, that was a perfectly plausible loophole. All she had to do was declare Kallian as temporary regent, and she was basically free for as long as everyone was okay with it. Probably anything more than a year would be pushing it, but that would hopefully be enough time to solve the texts and grow into the throne. When would be a good time to announce such a decision? The upcoming banquet to celebrate her success in the Tomb seemed a bit early, but doing it quickly might stop her from overthinking it.

Melia was taken out of her thoughts by seeing something moving on the skybridge towards the villa.

_It's Shulk and his companions. Why are they here? Do they know what this place is? They must, the guards would have ensured it before allowing passage._

_Are they...looking for me?_

It was still an unfamiliar sensation, the feeling of someone seeking her out for no true benefit of their own. Shulk had came to her aid in the forest and in the tomb out of nothing but altruism, and now he was coming to meet her in a personal space at a time where no help was known to be necessary.

_Is this what true friendship is like? Visiting a person for no reason? Or is there...something more?_

Melia got up and began travelling down to meet the party. It occurred to her that this would be the first time they would be seeing her wings uncovered, but to be honest she felt like it was overdue by now. At this point, it was hard to believe it could be some sort of surprise.


	25. Skipper

The party watched the High Entia pod depart from the landing site, returning from Makna Forest to Alcamoth.

Melia could feel a sense of adventure welling up. Normally she was content to sit around indoors and do intellectual things, but to accompany Shulk and the others on a mission against the Mechon felt like just what she needed in these unusual times. Besides, she had her own personal goal: to make the one they called Metal Face suffer.

Looking towards the path to Valak Mountain, she shook her shoulders around a bit, causing the contents of her new travel pouch to rattle and confirm their presence. As part of preparing to be away from Alcamoth for several days, she had acquired a new travel pouch, twice the size of her old one yet still concealed under her collar. She had filled it with various miniature bathroom implements and a sleeping bag, which would in theory reduce any anxiety caused by once again eating and sleeping out in the middle of nowhere. She had offered to bring enough sleeping bags for the entire party - even though it would have taken up all the room she had available - but the others declined, presumably underestimating how cold the mountain could get at night.

Shulk, however, was staring the opposite direction, back towards Frontier Village. He seemed torn on some unapparent issue.

"Are you having second thoughts, Shulk?" Melia inquired.

"Uh? Um, not really, but...actually, I can't help but feel this is a good time to fulfill some of the requests the Nopon of Frontier Village had of us. But even this close, it would take so long to get back there."

Reyn joined in. "Hey, why not? We could always use a few easy bucks. Besides, I don't think those faced Mechon are going anywhere any time soon. They're spooked about that new Monado, they ain't gonna come back for another go so quick."

"Riki agree with Reyn. Village be Heropon-sick if Riki not visit every now and then."

"I'd love to go home for a bit too," added Sharla, "and see if we could pitch in and help the reconstruction somehow. But it's just too far away."

Dunban added his opinion. "There are so many things we could accomplish and people we could help. But every detour we make gives the Mechon that much more time to prepare for our arrival."

"Yeh." Reyn looked into the sky, following the path of the departed transport pod. "Been feeling a bit homesick lately, to be honest, and we've got so many crystals for the Gem Man to craft. But Colony 9 is...what, probably three or four days away? Maybe more, I can't even remember. We're too deep to turn back that far for just a few jobs."

The party continued to discuss the kinds of things they wished they could do by returning home, the mood becoming more depressing by the minute. With no such wishes to contribute, Melia simply listened.

_Everyone seems to be homesick to a degree, which cannot be blamed in the slightest. And from the sound of things, there is a great deal of quests that they have taken on but could not accomplish before arriving up to this point on the Bionis, and can no longer complete them without spending several days hiking back down. If only there was some way for us to skip all this travelling..._

Something twitched in her mind. Didn't she own a ship? One faster than any other, last seen moving towards west of Bridge Four, exactly where they currently were?

_I'd like to see another problem that has been so tidily solved.  
_

Melia reached back into her travel pouch. She had tossed in the remote to the Illustrious Alighting without really thinking about it, for no true reason other than making sure the old pouch had nothing of value remaining. Because of how rare it was for her to use it, it had never even occurred to her how useful the vessel would be on an adventure across the Bionis.

Extracting the remote and pressing the yellow button on the top-right, she flipped it over to read the screen. An arrow pointed to a nearby featureless rock face and displayed "20m".

_It must be stationed within a cave, using its stealth parking function to create a holographic wall and so avoid detection._

"Melly is playing with something?" Riki was the first to notice she was doing something.

"Just a moment, Riki." Melia pressed the summon button, but nothing happened; apparently the craft didn't respond to being summoned from too close. "I believe I have a solution to the current situation."

"Melly have fix to distant places? Oh, of course! Melly first come here in ship! Ship must be still here, and Melly knows where!"

Melia now had the rest of the party's attention, and so turned to face them. "You are correct. When I first arrived in this forest to face the Telethia, I took a vehicle commissioned for me called the Illustrious Alighting. It should still be nearby, and I believe I know where."

"You...you'd let us use your ship? Just to visit our homes?" Shulk seemed incredulous.

 _Oh Shulk, why is it so hard for you to believe my generosity?_ "Of course. It is the fastest ship ever made. If you have any unfinished business anywhere on the Bionis, you need no longer worry about it."

The party showed various forms of approval.

"So where is this ship of yours?" asked Sharla. "I'm guessing you hid it well?"

"Quite. In fact, it is right here." Melia led the group to the generic-looking rock face. As she approached it, she closed her eyes and continued walking - the force field only existed for those who expected it to exist, so she passed right through. To the others, it looked like she simply disappeared into the stone.

"Oi, where'd you go?" Reyn blurted.

"Please give me a moment to disable the barrier." Melia clambered on deck and looked over the dashboard. The screen was blank, but one of the buttons on the right side was giving off a slow, pulsating glow. _This must be it._ She pressed the button, which caused it to stop glowing. The looks on the others' faces told her that the fake wall had vanished, revealing the lavender hot rod.

"So this is called the Illustrious Alighting, eh?" Dunban noted. "A fascinating and meaningful designation."

 _I'm glad someone thinks so._ She had considered trying to change the craft's name to something less long-winded, but eventually decided to stick with it. She felt she wasn't the best with names anyways.

"It sure do look fast." It was clear that Reyn really wanted to get behind the wheel, but for once had the common sense not to.

Riki bobbed towards the rear of the vehicle. "Question. Who does not sit in chair?"

The vehicle currently had four seats aside from the pilot's, meaning someone would have to remain standing. Melia tried to recall whether she knew how to change this. "I believe a total of eight passenger seats can be produced. Permit me a few minutes to determine how to do so."

Shulk stepped forward to assist. "I think I can help, maybe...oh, nevermind." He sheepishly backed away again. "Forgot that I can't read your people's writing, sorry."

Not seeing any indication of seating capacity on the physical buttons, Melia tried tapping the display, which lit up a soft red and displayed "Please confirm clearance". She placed her hand upon it to scan, after which it turned blue and displayed a menu. From there, it wasn't too difficult to find the passenger seating controls, which she used to materialize two extra chairs.

"So if we're going to do a bit of backtracking, where should we go first?" asked Shulk. "Just because we can go places fast now doesn't mean we shouldn't have a plan."

"Can we check in on Colony 6?" requested Sharla. "They're the ones who need our help the most. We can make a more thorough plan once we see how they're doing."

Everyone else was in agreement. Excited, they started boarding the ship.

"Alright, so..." Melia turned around to see that all six passenger seats were occupied. _Wait, what? Shulk, Dunban, Reyn, Riki, Sharla, Alvis. Alvis? I cannot believe I forgot he was here._ "I see you're coming too, Seer."

Alvis nodded in his usual manner. "Of course. I cannot simply wait here in the forest for you to return, can I?"

"No, I suppose not. I'll need to add a seventh seat then." She turned back to do so.

"Hey, what d'you mean?" Reyn was sitting sideways in his seat to give himself more legroom. "Six plus the pilot, that looks like seven to me."

"Six plus the...the...the pilot. The _pilot_. I...um...oh dear..." It had completely escaped Melia that she had no pilot, and of course the ship was grounded without one. "This...er...I..." _Have I just given everyone the biggest and rudest letdown of their lives?_

Dunban leaned forward. "What's wrong?"

Melia sat down heavily in the pilot's seat, clearly quite depressed. "We...we have no pilot. My craft is stuck here, only able to return to Alcamoth without intervention. I have unknowingly raised your hopes of returning home only to dash them."

"Can't we go back to Alcamoth and get a pilot?" Dunban suggested.

"It is not reasonable to expect so. All hands are preparing for the inevitable battle with the Mechon. No one can be spared for a task as tangential as visiting Homs hometowns."

"Most of us have driving experience." Shulk leaned forward and looked over the dashboard. "It can't be that difficult to drive a flying vehicle. I bet-"

"You don't understand." Melia spoke much more forcefully than intended, and continued in a much quieter voice. "This vehicle will not respond to just any pilot. Only High Entia of sufficient clearance are capable of operating it. For anyone else, it will not budge."

"So? Don't you have the highest clearance of all?"

"That is true, but I fail to see-"

Reyn butted in. "Yeh, how 'bout that? You're the crown-princess-slash-empress, don't see how anything from your place could say you ain't welcome."

Melia couldn't stop her lips from curling. " _My_ clearance is irrelevant; it is the _pilot's_ that matters."

"You say that like you and the pilot would be different people," Sharla spelled out.

Melia's initial reaction to the continuing argument was to unleash a "now look here" with an irritated finger point, but the gut feeling was almost instantly replaced with the suddenly-dawning realization that the others expected her to be the pilot, or at least believed that she had piloting experience, when in fact the almost complete opposite was true.

"I...I..." She struggled to find the appropriate words.

Riki picked up on her trepidation instantly. "Melly has never flown before? No time like present! Riki know Melly have skill to swooshzoom anywhere! Skill is maybe hidden, but is there for sure!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll be fine," Shulk added. "If you can control three elementals at once, one ship shouldn't be a big deal."

"This is not the time for peer pressure." Dunban crossed his arm. "If Melia is not comfortable as pilot, then we'll have no choice but to abandon the idea of backtracking. It's not our place to force her into it."

The party seemed downtrodden at realizing Dunban was right, including himself. Silence fell for several minutes.

Reyn was the first to make a move. "Well, I guess we better get moving then. That mountain ain't gettin' any closer."

He was about to step off the deck when the craft's twin engines started making a soft humming noise. The front leg swung up and clicked into place underneath the chassis, while the two round pads attached to the engines spun around the pods and also disappeared into the underside. The craft remained at the same height, now hovering motionless in the air.

"...Melia?" Shulk leaned forward as Melia adjusted the pilot's seat forwards so she could reach the pedals. "You don't have to do this, like Dunban said-"

"I will not let one irrational fear stand in the way of five peoples' happiness." She spun the wheel sideways, aiming the nose out of the cave. From previous observations, she had half an idea of what all the steering wheel's functions were: turning, banking, pitching, altitude control, and even strafing. The main issue would be trying to pay attention where she was aiming while also trying to retain her mental faculties from the inevitably dizzying heights - she was fine as a passenger, where she had ultimate confidence in the pilot and autopilot, but not so when the novice of herself was in control.

"But what if it's not irrational? What if you actually are a bad pilot?"

Melia couldn't help but scoff at Shulk's choice of words. "What do you mean, "if"?" She floored the gas pedal, expecting to get up to a decent maneuvering speed to rise above the treetops.

She didn't notice that some movement or other of hers had bumped the speed multiplier control up to maximum.

The engines made their high-pitched whine and propelled the Illustrious Alighting up to 400 kilometres per hour. The auxiliary systems having been powered down for a long while, there was quite a jolt to start, accompanied by enough wind to blow Melia's headdress off - which was caught by the containment field before it went overboard. The trees of the forest were gone in an instant, with only blue sky visible ahead. Everyone in the party was either speechless or screaming.

Unprepared for maximum speed, it took Melia a few seconds to regain control of her arms and latch them onto the wheel, now gripping it with white-knuckle force. She intuitively turned the wheel while also tilting it sideways, causing the craft to bank into its turn, accompanied by rollercoaster-level G-forces. The Bionis quickly swung back into view as she aimed for where she knew Colony 6 to be.

After about twenty seconds, the inertial dampeners and debris deflectors regained full operation, halting any further jolt and wind. The first speech that could be heard was a profanity out of Reyn's mouth; he was immediately slapped by all three of Shulk, Sharla, and Dunban.

"No, but seriously," he gasped, "what in the-" He was slapped again before he could continue.

Melia took one hand off the wheel to make a "pfft" motion with it, concealing terror with calmness. "Did I not say this is the fastest ship ever made?"

"Well, yeah, but not like this."

Replacing both hands on the wheel, Melia continued to stare at Colony 6, coming ever closer. Remaining in control after the initial burst of speed was starting to settle her mind a bit. While she didn't know the full extent of the craft's safety features, she realized that they were probably as advanced as its engines. It would probably be difficult to crash, even intentionally.

"This is incredible," Shulk blurted out. "Do we even need to cross Valak Mountain anymore to get to Sword Valley?"

Melia considered for a moment. _The Homs colonies and other known landmarks are easy enough to find, and I know my way around Eryth Sea, but I don't feel safe simply flying into unexplored territory. It could attract the attention of unexpected company._ "I'm not flying into Mechonis airspace, or any unknown area for that matter, until we have scouted out its major landmarks and enemy movements."

"Fair enough," Dunban nodded. "So we shall continue forging into new areas on foot, and use this craft to backtrack when we feel it is necessary. But how will we access it once we have entered a new region?"

"I possess a remote that allows me to summon the craft from anywhere. I am unsure how safe this may be once we reach the Mechonis, but there should be nowhere on the Bionis' exterior it cannot reach."

"It's perfect." Shulk started getting excited. "We can even use it to carry around mass amounts of materials, so we can travel lighter and help more people."

"And no more livin' off weak grub, or sleepin' out in the middle of nowhere," Reyn added. "Okay, maybe every now and then if we end up in a place where this thing can't get to, but otherwise, we've got it made now."

"We could even split up," Sharla realized. "Make two groups of three, set up some times and places to meet back up, and we can cover two areas at once."

Approaching Colony 6, Melia started sliding the speed multiplier down, eventually slowing the craft to a comparative snail's pace. "I'm glad you all see so much potential in this new ability. But I request you try to keep things simple, as I am still a complete novice. I recommend not putting too much faith in my piloting abilities."

"Then perhaps you should practice while we check in on the colony," Dunban suggested, "if you wish to ensure our faith is not misplaced."

"...Yes, that is a good suggestion." Something important occurred to her. "It would also give you an opportunity to forewarn the populace of the High Entia, to soften any surprise that my appearance may provide."

"Perfect." Sharla looked rather anxious. "Let's go see how things are doing."

Melia slowly brought her craft down towards the colony's entrance. As they passed overhead, it was clear that no reconstruction had taken place thus far; aside from maybe one or two intact buildings, the entire area within the colony walls was filled with nothing but rubble, with not a soul to be seen.

 _Was there once a colony here?_ she wondered. _The devastation is indescribable... Is this what became of Colony 7 after we evacuated it?  
_

"Umm..." Shulk seemed like he didn't want to say whatever he was about to. "...where is everyone? Why haven't they returned from the refugee camp yet?"

Melia was equally worried about why no one had moved back into the no-longer-Mechon-occupied colony. Weren't Homs supposed to be exceptionally tough in these kinds of situations?

Sharla suddenly pointed towards the colony entrance. "Look, it's Otharon!"

Indeed, a bald dark-skinned Homs was pacing across the mouth of the colony, seemingly frustrated about something.

"Melia, put us down!" Reyn said. "Otharon'll know what's gone wrong! We've gotta talk to 'im!"

Melia was not prepared to meet a Homs unaware of her race so soon. "Er, very well, allow me to descend just out of sight."

She began to guide the ship downwards, aiming for just around the corner of the outer walls from the entrance, as close as possible without being visible. But just as the lone man was about to disappear over the wall, he looked up towards them.

 _I hope he didn't see us._ Melia allowed the Illustrious Alighting to stop its own fall and deploy landing gear.

Before the vessel even touched the ground, Sharla leaped off and started running towards the entrance, with the others quickly following. Melia remained seated, expecting a five- or ten-minute reunion session before being informed of whatever the problem with the refugees was.

She didn't expect to hear the entire conversation from just around the corner, as though they had been met halfway.

"Welcome back to Colony 6, Medic. It's a relief to see you." The unknown voice was presumably Otharon.

"Thank you, Otharon, but...where are all the others?"

"I will get to that in a moment. But for now I must know: how goes your effort against the Mechon?"

Shulk answered. "We're no closer to Metal Face. But we've picked up new allies, and the Monado is much more powerful now. The next time we find him, we'll be ready."

"New allies, eh? I suppose that explains this little ankle-biter?"

"Riki is Heropon! Most bestest warrior of Frontier Village! No can even reach own ankles to bite!"

"Not just him," Reyn added. "We've got a High Entia on our team too!"

_Confound it, Reyn, take a hint for once._

"A High Entia?! Now this I have to see."

Melia considered opening up the maintenance panel on the underside of the dashboard to give her head an excuse to remain unseen. But since the others all knew she had no business doing so, she would look incredibly foolish. Her best course of action was probably to simply remain stoic.

As all the others came back around the corner, she stiffened up and put on the most neutral face she could muster, attempting to look as uninteresting as possible. It seemed to work; Otharon certainly looked rather unsurprised as he approached and stood next to the ship with his arms crossed.

"You finally pulled your heads out of the clouds then? Finally realized there are people down here who needed your help?"

Melia was not prepared for preconceived bitterness. Without thinking about it, she gave it right back. "Do not conflate my personal desires with the public's deplorable apathy for the state of other races."

"So you admit that you were in the wrong to sit back and watch us be destroyed?"

"I have always felt it was wrong. But a single person's feelings cannot compare to untold millenia of red tape."

Otharon shook his head for a moment before his frown turned to neutrality. "Well, something's better than nothing. I hold no grudge with you. But when you return home, tell whoever's in charge of your people to take a good long look in the mirror, and ask them how they would feel if the roles were reversed."

Melia didn't react, grateful that the first thing on Kallian's mind was already shedding the notion of leaving the Homs to fight the Mechon alone.

"Now, to bring you all up to speed." Otharon turned towards the rest of the group. "We want to rebuild Colony 6 and restore it to its former glory. To do that, we need to move everyone back from the camp. But Raguel Bridge has been taken by a pack of ferocious monsters! So now no one can cross it."

"Are there not other ways to cross Raguel Lake?" Dunban interjected.

"Not with the amount of supplies the refugees need to carry," answered Sharla.

"That bridge is the only way to move the refugees back safely," Otharon spelled out. "With them stuck on one side and me on the other, we're all stuck! Can you eliminate the monsters on Raguel Bridge for us?"

Reyn seemed to swell up and take up even more space than usual. "Can we? How about, when do you want it done by? The colony'll be full o' people by tomorrow, I promise ya."

Sharla nodded. "That's a bit optimistic, but I agree. The refugees have waited for too long. We've got to help them out as soon as possible."

"If bangsmash baddies all that needs to be done, then Heropon and his sidekicks have no trouble at all! Hom Homs come home soon soon!"

"Thank you. I knew you would." Otharon looked out down the road. "Just secure the bridge. Once you have done that, inform Juju at the camp. I will be waiting here. We will begin rebuilding the colony once everyone has returned. I am counting on you!"

"We won't let you down, Otharon." Shulk led the group in re-boarding the Illustrious Alighting. "C'mon Melia, let's get to the bridge."

 _What am I, your personal chauffeur?_ Melia glared at Shulk for a moment, but he didn't seem to realize. _I mean, it's not like I would decline, given the stated goal, but some base politeness would be nice._

"Don't be so hasty, Shulk." At least Dunban noticed. "Remember, Melia is still a novice pilot."

"Oh, right, sorry." Shulk fidgeted a bit. "Um, Melia, could we go to Raguel Bridge, please? If we can get rid of the monsters quickly, we might be able to move the refugees in before the end of today."

 _That's better._ "Of course, Shulk. We did not make this detour simply to listen to problems without acting."

Sharla turned back to Otharon. "You're not coming with us, Otharon?"

"I can't. Someone must guard the colony gate."

Reyn shrugged. "Suit yourself, old man. We're off to bust some heads."

"I have no doubt that you will. Bring those people home." With that, Otharon turned to walk back to the entrance.

Melia nodded internally as she watched him turn the corner. He might have gotten off to an abrasive start with her, but she appreciated the frank and no-nonsense attitude.

"So what d'you think those monsters on the bridge could be?" wondered Reyn.

"They could be anything," said Dunban. "It is likely a territorial creature rather than a roaming one, but other than that, all kinds of animals could see the bridge as prime real estate. We must be ready for anything."

Melia was getting herself ready to fly again. This time around, she thoroughly checked every control on the dashboard before making any motion, ensuring that nothing was bumped or set out of place. Once satisfied, she pulled the craft up into the air once more.

Shulk leaned in a bit. "Melia, do you...do you know where Raguel Bridge is? I mean, since you've never been around here before and all..."

"Not definitively, but based solely on the name it is a bridge that crosses Raguel Lake, the largest body of water on the Leg of Plains. I expect I will have little trouble locating it."

"Yeah, that's about...uh, Leg of Plains? What..." The gears in Shulk's head could be seen turning. "Wait, is that what the High Entia call it?"

Melia couldn't help but turn and look at Shulk, a bit confused. "Of course. What else would it be called?"

"Um, well, we just call it Bionis' Leg. Which now that I think about it, seems a bit weird. We never really talk about the other leg, there hasn't been a colony there in a while...I don't even think we have a proper name for it."

 _How odd._ Melia slowly began pressing the forwards pedal until it reached maximum, followed by raising the speed multiplier extremely slowly until the Illustrious Alighting was moving at a comfortable cruising speed towards the Bionis' northern thigh. Mercifully, everyone else present remained silent the whole time, gazing across the impressive landscape below.

 _I'm not sure what I expected, but this flying business is far easier than I thought it to be._ Her adventurous side was trying to get her to do a trick, perhaps an aileron roll, but with no trace of seatbelts or the like she had no idea what would happen if she tried. _Perhaps if I get a chance to practice alone in the future, and close to ground level for safety._

Raguel Lake came into view very quickly, with the huge grey bridge crossing it impossible to miss. Melia aimed the ship down towards the near southern end and slowed it to a halt just before approaching the ground. It was almost an effortless process.

"Riki said that Melly had swooshzoom skill," Riki bragged. "Melly go fast and stick landing. Friends can go anywhere in world with snap of fingers!"

Reyn pointed towards the bridge, where a dozen Hox were visible not too far away. "There they are. Let's get 'em outta here!" He leapt off the vessel and started charging forward.

After taking a moment to actually prepare themselves, the others followed. Melia figured she didn't have to do anything special to secure the ship while they were away; it could not be stolen due to its clearance requirements, and if it could survive a volley of Telethia lightning, it could probably take whatever the area's local creatures could throw at it.

The battle with the Hox did not take long. While they were certainly dangerous to a bunch of people who were refugees explicitly because they could not fight, they were no match for a half-dozen warriors who had fought Faced Mechon. It was only a few minutes before the bridge was clear of hostile creatures.

"A job well done," proclaimed Dunban as he pushed the last dead Hox off the bridge. "The refugees' path is clear."

"Then let's get them moving," said Sharla. "I can't wait to deliver the news. Juju's going to be over the moon."

Riki hopped back and forth."Juju over moon? Wow! Happy makes long way!"

"So..." Shulk looked over at Melia. "Can we please fly over to the Refugee Camp now, Melia? It's something like a two or three-hour walk, but if we can-"

 _Oh Shulk, you don't have to rationalize every little thing._ "Of course. You will have to guide me there, however."

"It's...uh, south of Kamos Guidepost. Might be near due west of here actually. It's surrounded by cliffs and trees, it has a pond."

"Then it should not be difficult to find."

The party returned to the Illustrious Alighting and took off. Melia no longer felt much fear behind the wheel, but she still leaned very far on the side of caution in all her movements, not doing more than one thing at a time. Still, it was mere minutes before the others started pointing downwards, into a hidden area in the rock below.

 _There is no way to conceal our arrival unless we land outside of the camp proper and walk in._ She considered doing so. _No, there is no reason to delay the inevitable. If Otharon, the leader of these people, accepts my appearance and trusts in this group, there is no reason for the others to not follow._

As the ship descended to the ground, most of the refugees that were visible scrambled into the nearby cave, fearful of foreign flying machines. On the other hand, a select few emerged to watch whatever was going on.

Once they had landed, Sharla jumped off to meet up with a young adolescent that Melia supposed was Juju. It seemed a little weird to her that someone's kid brother was in charge of a relocated group of children and elders, unless she misunderstood what the current situation was.

After some initial excitement, Juju turned a bit withdrawn and disappointed, as if he had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, Sharla, but-"

Sharla cut him off. "Don't be like that. It's not your fault that the road home got blocked. You did the right thing by keeping everyone here."

"You know about that?" The excitement returned. "Can you help us deal with it then?"

"Already done, kid," Reyn butted in. "The bridge is free and clear."

"You got rid of all the monsters at Raguel Bridge?!" As Juju said it, everyone within earshot also perked up, and a hubbub started to travel through the encampment. "Now everyone can go back home to Colony 6. Thank you so much."

Riki finished his look around. "Why Hom Homs want to go back to broken messy home? New home here not so bad."

"Going back to Colony 6 will solve all the problems we had here." Juju next turned to Shulk. "Once we leave, we won't come back here again. Shall we go now? We can wait for you if there are still things you need to do."

Shulk thought for a moment. "Give us an hour or so. I think there's still a few things people here have asked for help with that we can get done before you move out."

Juju nodded. "OK. Just let me know when you're ready."

The group split up to ensure that all their previous promises were fulfilled, and do so if not. Riki wandered off on his own, eventually finding a group of Nopon and presumably proceeding to brag about his exploits as Heropon.

Having not budged from the pilot seat, Melia found herself with no immediate plans or goals. She didn't feel like she could help anyone at the moment, with her lack of knowledge of anything specific that was going on, but she wasn't comfortable enough with the current situation to simply engage with others as Riki was. Yet she didn't exactly want to sit around doing nothing for-

"Are you a High Entia?"

Melia turned towards the source of the tiny voice. A group of ten or twelve children had congregated right next to her vehicle, with more on the way, all staring at her in awe.

 _There is no reason to lie to them._ "I am."

Some of the kids clapped in excitement, while others broke off from the group and started having hushed discussions.

"Can we touch your wings?" another one asked.

Melia's immediate instinct was to give a stern telling-off for such a suggestion, but she managed to contain it and concoct a answer more suited for unaware Homs. "No you may not. That would be highly inappropriate."

"Can you fly, though?" inquired a third.

"Many High Entia can fly, but I myself cannot." _How much should I tell them at this point? This is the perfect opportunity to prime their minds with the correct first impression of my people, yet at the same time it would not do any good to reveal I am royalty, or too much about myself in particular._

The crowd was growing, with a few adults beginning to join the children in meeting what looked to be the emissary of a mythical species. Several different questions were being asked all at once, blurring each other to unrecognizability. Once they realized that they were stifling each other, they started to raise their hands and await selection.

Over the next little while, Melia told the refugees of Colony 6 all that she felt they needed to know about the High Entia. It was a surprisingly fun experience to educate others on a subject that was essentially common knowledge to her. She had to admit that she was looking forward to doing the same for Colony 9.


	26. Starlight

"Coming through!" Reyn called past the mass of discarded Andos armour in his arms. "Budge up there! Clear a path!"

It didn't take long for his voice and size to gain a wide berth through the crowded Reconstruction HQ. Melia and Riki followed in his wake, carrying their own much smaller piles of armour.

Once Reyn reached the storage area at the back of the building, he offloaded all his bounty with a massive crash. "There you are, kid, the Sturdy Armour ya needed."

Juju had been cautiously eyeing a jar full of ladybirds about twenty paces away, but was immediately prompted to dash over and have a look. "Wow, Reyn, you're amazing! You destroyed that many robots today?!"

"Actually, we had a better idea." Melia gently added her own load to the pile. "We went to a drone reclamation facility in Alcamoth and acquired as much discarded Andos armour as we could carry."

"An' this is just the first trip, kid. Got three more loads like this in the truck. Well, not a truck but you know. Be right back." Reyn jogged back out.

"You're the best, Reyn!" Juju yelled after him. He then turned to Melia. "Melia, I don't think I thank you enough. Without that ship of yours we'd be...like, it would take us _months_ to get to where we are now. But you've given us a way to bring in so many materials without needing to go through Defence Force approval for every trip, like borrowing one of the carriers would need." He glanced back out the door. "Don't tell Reyn, but _you're_ the best. Well, along with Shulk, I mean he's the one who inspired me in the first place!"

Melia was used to hearing a similar refrain every time the Illustrious Alighting pulled into Colony 6 with a new load of supplies, but to her surprise the warm fuzzy feeling wasn't diminishing each time. "Thank you, Juju."

"Riki also best." The Nopon's load of armour was about equal to Melia's, which he haphazardly tipped onto the growing pile. "Heropon help friends get best deal on armour."

"You had to _pay_ for these?" Juju looked a bit incredulous, given that the majority of the restoration supplies thus far were either donations or claimed from the wild.

"Naturally," Melia responded. "The drone reclamation facility was sympathetic to the cause, but they simply could not part with this much material for free."

"Then...then I'll pay you back." Juju fumbled a bit in extracting a notebook and pencil from his pockets. "How much was it?"

Melia shook her head. "That is not necessary. This is as much a donation as any other material. I do not require monetary compensation."

Juju stood agape for a moment. "Wow, you really _are_ the best."

Reyn showed back up with another load of armour, which he unceremoniously dumped onto the pile with a huge clatter before going back off to get more.

While waiting for him to finish the delivery, Melia milled around the storage area. It looked almost completely different every day; once people realized what supplies were available, they quickly trotted them out to the colony for usage in construction.

She was slowly becoming used to the feeling of being in a crowd of Homs. Being surrounded by people with no wings at all was a bit unnerving for a while, especially since it took a bit for people to stop staring at her. Luckily, she had succeeded so far in not revealing to anyone that she was royalty, which was almost necessary now that a couple of High Entia were starting to show interest in relocation down to the rebuilding colony.

It was also becoming second nature to use the Illustrious Alighting to effectively teleport around the Bionis at will. Someone lost something a few days ago? Have it recovered and returned within an hour. A foolish child has gotten themselves into danger? Bring them back with incredible speed. Don't feel like taking up valuable room in Colony 6 for the night? Fly over to Dunban's house. It wasn't perfect, of course - it never responded to being summoned during a blizzard on Valak Mountain, forcing the group to sleep in the freezing Ose Tower for a night. But overall it made the adventuring experience much more bearable.

"That's the last of it." Reyn dropped off the last load. "Man, what a day. Gettin' a bit late. Where're the others at? Haven't seem 'em yet."

Riki pointed at a clock on the wall. "Friends still have...five minutes." He had learned how to tell analog time surprisingly quickly, given that most Nopon didn't normally keep accurate time.

Shulk, Dunban, and Sharla had been spending the previous few hours doing some shopping and trading at various places in the colony. The two groups had agreed to meet up back at the Reconstruction HQ once they were both done their tasks.

"Got a treat for you tonight, Melia." Reyn seemed to puff up. "It's my night for dinner, and I'm takin' us to Giorgio's. He's got the best menu in Colony 9. I bet you a hundred Gs we'll find _something_ you like."

"I will not take that bet. I too look forward to seeing what is in store." Melia always complimented whatever the others fed her, but it was still crystal clear to everyone that she was underwhelmed by the quality of the Homs cuisine she'd experienced so far. "Besides, you will need that money to help cover whatever Riki eats."

"Oh crud, forgot about that feedbag. Ah well, I can suck it up. I've had worse - had to buy for all the guys in the unit once, now that was a pocket-burner. 'Course, that eventually evens out once everyone has a go."

Riki re-appeared from behind a large pile of wooden planks. "Reyn's pockets on fire?"

A commotion could be heard rising in the front room of the building. Juju was quick to stop counting the armour and leave the storage room to see what it was about, and almost just as quick to return with a half-worried half-panicked look on his face.

"Th-the ether planters! Something's attacking them!"

"What?" Reyn instantly went into combat mode. "Which ones? How do you know?"

"The maintenance room had a bunch of alarms go off. The Pod Depot cluster's output levels are going nuts."

"C'mon, let's go! We got no time to lose, them ether planters ain't cheap to replace!" Reyn hurried out of the room.

Riki seemed to read Melia's mind as he prepared to follow. "Juju will tell friends what happened if we late to return. Friends no have to worry."

"Well...all right then." Melia chased the other two out of the Reconstruction HQ to board the Illustrious Alighting. With minimal preparation time, she flew over the colony wall towards the Pod Depot. Even at minimum speed, it was many times faster than walking would have been.

Once the ether planters came into view, the source of the problem was obvious.

"Three Mechon." Reyn scowled. "Those M64 things, look like they've got some good armour on 'em."

"Riki throw Tantrum, make machines wobbly! Then Reyn knock down, and friends bangsmash! And Melly not even need to have knockdowns to bangsmash!"

"That may be true, but attracting their attention would be a very poor tactical decision on my part, as Reyn cannot distract them so trivially. We will need to topple them in order to deal with them safely."

Landing a safe distance away, the trio disembarked and carefully began advancing on the Mechon, which were currently busy attempting to completely uproot one of the dozens of ether-focusing instruments. They were working together too well to be able to lure any one of them away - they would have to be taken on all at once.

"Let's bash some heads!" With his Rage aura activated, Reyn charged forward and unleashed an Aura Burst, his only method of dealing ether damage, in hopes of attracting enough attention that they wouldn't change focus to anyone else before they could all be destroyed. The Mechon all recoiled rather severely, suggesting they were quite weak compared to the party in terms of combat ability, but they didn't hesitate to stop their sabotage and start fighting.

"Super Riki Tantrum!" Riki pounded the ground with his biter three times, destabilizing all the machines' postures.

"Pick on this one!" Easily dodging attacks from the other two enemies, Reyn selected the left-most M64 and used Wild Down to knock it over, exposing its vulnerable areas.

"Now!" Melia unloaded a bolt into the downed Mechon, dealing high damage. The other two jumped in and began bashing the exposed weak points before it could get back up.

The party repeated the process - Riki staggered it, Reyn toppled it, and Melia blasted it with a flare. After three cycles, the first Mechon didn't get back up.

"Things are going to plan." Melia playfully bopped the next Mechon on the head with her staff to no effect as it continued to burn while failing to hit Reyn. There was no feeling more satisfying than a plan's successful execution.

Things got a bit more complicated when working on the second Mechon, however. While Riki and Reyn toppled it and began attacking it without issue, the third had enough of being on fire and decided to go after Melia. Unable to outrun it, she froze it in place with Shadow Stitch, but once the effect wore off, the chase continued. Dodging its attacks wasn't difficult, but it was a chore. She continued to throw elementals at the downed Mechon when convenient, but couldn't get this other one to go away.

A loud squeak emitted from the other half of the battle. Melia turned to see that Riki had been hit by a hard attack just after he staggered the Mechon, and had been sent over the edge of the cliff, down to the Freight Road below.

"Stinkin' trash heap!" Reyn toppled the Mechon and planted the final few damaging blows into it, but they now had a problem: their only source of break arts had been propelled out of the battle, and would take several minutes to rejoin the group. And they still had one more mostly-healthy Mechon to go.

Melia stumbled over a rock as she continued to back away from the final M64. It had finally managed to nick her in the arm, which was now smarting quite a bit, and Shadow Stitch was significantly less effective when used on the same target in quick succession. She tried to use Hypnotise to force it into sleep mode, but Mechon internals were different enough from those of High Entian drones that she didn't yet have a feel for how she was supposed to do so; she was already planning on asking the others to help her practice on low-threat specimens once they got to Sword Valley. She didn't want to throw any more attacks at it, which would only make it harder for Reyn to steal its attention.

"Oi, tinbrain!" Reyn threw the entire weight of his weapon into the Mechon's backside for no practical effect, falling over as a result. "Get back here, you...hang on. ENGAGE!"

The unignorable aura took a few seconds to work its way into whatever the Mechon had for a brain, but eventually it caved to the temptation and turned towards Reyn.

"That's better, but we still got problems." Reyn fired off another Aura Burst, but had nothing else he could do to improve the situation. "I can't take this thing down by myself, but if you do anything, it'll head straight back for you once this aura's run off. We can't hold it off long enough for fuzzball to get back, 'cuz it'll eventually hit me to its satisfaction and then probably go for you again. Any ideas?"

Melia leaned on her staff as she rested and thought. _Without a means of breaking its stance, toppling it is out of the question. Allowing it to continue to chase me is folly; any single elemental will capture its attention too strongly for Reyn to divert without waiting on his Engage aura once more. Wait...perhaps we can fool it into chasing me off the edge of the cliff? That seems risky, but doable. I could pass by Reyn and have him pull me away by the staff as the Mechon continues forward, then if required use Spear Break or Sword Drive to give it any necessary last push. No Mechon of this size could survive that fall.  
_

"AGH!" Out of nowhere, the M64 swung its arm in a low arc, knocking Reyn's feet out from under him. It then proceeded to pound him in the face mercilessly.

Without thinking, Melia shot a bolt at the Mechon. Reyn could normally take quite a bit of punishment, but not directly to the head in such quick succession. Of course, the Mechon proceeded to free itself from the lock-on and resume its pursuit of her.

 _I can't lead it off the cliff by myself without some form of acrobatics that I surely am incapable of. I must simply retreat until Reyn recovers._ She began steadily backing away again, refusing to show her back to the enemy.

It didn't take long for her to stumble again, this time on a branch. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the M64 plowed straight into her, knocking her on her back. It then landed a shot to the gut before she could scramble away. The new injuries were significant enough that she had no hope of staying ahead of it now - she'd have to fight to keep it away.

Melia's new strategy was to make a short dash and turn to fire an elemental at the enemy, then repeat, throwing in a Shadow Stitch whenever possible. A summoned aqua helped her physical condition, but didn't relieve her of exhaustion; the Mechon was steadly getting closer and would certainly have a massive advantage at melee range. And Reyn was just now getting up, realizing what was going on, and preparing to rejoin the fight.

 _Curse this automaton!_ Melia looked up into the sky as she hobbled along; stars were staring to peek through the sunset light as she weakly deflected an incoming swipe. She had absolutely no intention of meeting her father in the stars because of some insignificant Mechon.

"C'mon princess, don't you cop out on me!" An extremely upset Reyn had arrived on the scene, but his attempt at stealing the Mechon's attention failed; being recently knocked out meant his Engage aura couldn't reach the required intensity. It was enough to use Aura Burst again; not that it did any good either.

Out of desperation more than anything, Melia jabbed at the M64 with Spear Break, pushing it back slightly but not enough to appreciably keep it at bay. But something was different this time, something she had never seen before - the Mechon's affected leg gave off the slightest twitch, the tiniest twinge of uncertainty.

Melia stared at the leg for a moment, trying to process what had happened while still fumbling around to avoid taking any further hits. _Did...did I do it? Did I get the break? No, no of course not, Reyn would have noticed immediately and toppled it. But then what-_

Reyn lost his composure, slamming the broad side of his weapon against the Mechon, which didn't do much more than flinch. "DAMMIT MELIA, TELL ME YOU'VE GOT _SOMETHING_ SCRUNCHED UP IN THAT TIGHT ARSE OF YOURS!"

The angry exclamation went completely unprocessed by Melia's brain. Something else had appeared in its place: a curious instinct that made absolutely no sense, but was pretty much the only shred of a hope remaining. Without wasting time thinking about it, she leapt forward and planted a flying kick into the same place she had speared.

To the surprise of everyone in the battle, the unexpected kick resulted in the Mechon losing its footing and tumbling to the ground.

"Wha-...ALL RIGHT!" Reyn proceeded to prolong the topple with his own such art before going beserk and laying into the M64 with unparalleled ferocity. Combined with the damage that Melia had worked into it earlier, it never had the chance to get back up.

The area went quiet for several minutes. The two remaining fighters simply laid in the grass, recovering from the difficult battle.

"So...uh..." Reyn broke the silence, sitting up and nervously scratching his neck.

Melia started wrenching her mind back into gear; it had been blissfully empty for the past little while. _If this is about my tactical choices in that battle, then-  
_

"I'm sorry, Melia. For...for calling you a tight-arse. Or...or for saying you had one. Or...uh, whatever it was. It don't matter. I'm sorry, that's the point. I didn't mean it, I was just really upset. You know how it is when things go wrong and...and people get hurt." He stared off into the distance. "I hate it when people get hurt. I can't _stand_ it. No one deserves to be hurt. Not you, not Shulk, not anyone. _I'm_ the one who's supposed to be taking the beating, so no one else has to."

Melia was constantly surprised by Reyn. Usually, it was due to his lame jokes, bottomless stomach, or short-sighted decisions. But every now and then, he would spout something deep and philosophical out of nowhere, which was always the most surprising of all.

She was about to respond when Reyn stood up and clapped the grass of himself. "Well, forget it, that's all in the past. So!" All smiles again, he grabbed onto Melia's unwilling arm and pulled her to her feet. "New art, eh? Some sort of toppling kick that skips the break part entirely? Awesome! How's about you get some practice in before fuzzball gets back?"

"Er..." The sudden shift in tone was jarring. She didn't really think of what happened as a new art, either - just a freak accident. She decided to act a bit slow to judge whether Reyn was just trying to cheer her up or something. "Beg pardon? New art? What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you've lost the inspiration already, you know how useful a surprise physical topple by an ether user would be." Reyn stood ready and patted himself on the shin. "Right, gimme that kick right 'ere. Knock me straight down. No mercy!"

"Is...is that not potentially-"

"Do you really think _you_ can hurt _me_ with a kick? Shulk could wail on me legs for hours an' I wouldn't feel a thing. C'mon. A new art's like a dream, you gotta capture the feeling straight away, or it'll be lost forever."

Melia supposed that Reyn knew more about self-made arts than her, given that at least two of his arts were of his own invention, and she had never attempted to do the same. "Very well. I shall try my best."

Trying to stand in the same manner as when she attacked the Mechon, she jumped at Reyn and placed a kick right where he had patted. She might as well have slapped him with a feather; she landed awkwardly on the ground with no toppling results.

"Okay, alright, that's fine, just try again." Reyn patted his leg again. "It rarely works on the first try once you realize what you're trying to do. Just try to recapture that original moment again."

Melia had heard similar advice before - way back when she was learning to control two elementals at once. The idea that the same principle could apply on two such vastly different techniques was both weird and sensible. She closed her eyes and tried to re-imagine what had happened not too long ago - a Mechon was attacking relentlessly, and toppling it was the only chance to stay alive. Staying in the thought for several moments, she only opened her eyes at the last instant to ensure that her kick was going to hit her target.

It still didn't do anything. Kicking a tree might have had more of an effect.

"Hm, now wait a tick." Reyn was trying to have an idea. "What'd you do before that? Like, art-wise."

"How do you mean?" _How could it be relevant?_

"Well, you know how Dunban's gotta use Gale Slash, or Electric Gutbuster don't work? Or how my Dive Sobat is a lot stronger and cooler if I do a Bone Upper first. That sort of thing. Maybe this new art of yours has to be part of a combo to get the right feeling going."

"I had previously used Spear Break." _And a fat lot of good that...hang on. No, actually that makes perfect sense. Break art, then topple art. But if I did get a break, why didn't Reyn jump at the opportunity?_

"Oh, so it's supposed to be a break art after all?" Reyn looked slightly disappointed. "Ah well, getting a topple without a break was a longshot anyways, no big deal." Pat pat pat. "Spear Break, then...uh, then whatever-you-wanna-call-it-kick. We'll figure out a name once you get it going."

Skeptical but distantly hopeful, Melia jabbed Reyn in the shin with her staff. At first, it seemed that it didn't do anything in the slightest, but upon looking closer, there it was again - a minute twitch.

"Yeah, that ain't a break, I'm still solid." His face scrunched up in thought as he continued to stand ready. "So then what-"

Ignoring whatever he was saying, Melia delivered her kick into the same place she had speared, effortlessly taking out Reyn's legs and causing him to tumble down into a heap.

"Woah!" Reyn untwisted himself and popped right back up. "Now we're talkin'! Do it again!"

Melia did so, using Spear Break and her new kick art in combination to knock down her target with surprising efficiency. Spurred by success and Reyn's coaching, they repeated the process until she had ten topples to her name.

"There ain't no Mechon ever stopping us now." Reyn massauged his leg a bit. "Shulk's got the Monado, me 'n' Sharla can break and topple, and Dunban, Riki, and now you can knock 'em down by yourselves."

Melia nodded, her rear still a bit sore from all the impromptu landings. "There are more convenient ways to deal with Mechon than for me to use physical attacks, but it will certainly be effective."

"Good to hear." Reyn looked towards the cliff. "That cheese blob's taking his time, he is. Oh yeah, the name. What're you calling this new super kick art of yours? It's gotta be good. How about...Royal Kick? Or maybe Tumble Strike? Aha, Heiress's Heel! Got the alliteration 'n' all."

"I shall name it as I see fit."

"Suit yourself, I'm just tossin' ideas out." Reyn sat down as he waited for Riki to return.

Melia also sat down, considering the current issue. Down Kick was the existing, traditional topple art taught to most High Entia fighters, but it didn't seem like this art was the same thing - it seemed like it depended solely on her Spear Break to function, and not the typical staggering that another break art could inflict. Therefore, it would need to have a different name.

She looked up into the sky again, with more and more stars becoming visible. The Revolutionary was the constellation overhead this month, with its six brightest stars already visible, forming the image of a determined freedom fighter. The formation's other half, the looming tyrant, was too faint to be visible yet. Two of the wanderers was clearly visible, the Kin Star and Wise Star, over in the Rhapsodist to the west. Beyond the fixed stars of the constellations, the subtly-changing field of background stars also remained invisible, said to be full of the souls that had yet to be born and those that were fated to be reborn.

At the same time, she slowly realized that kicking things as a combat maneuver wasn't actually anything new to her at all. She'd kicked open doors, kicked Bunnits in the head, kicked assassins in the gut, and even kicked training drones that then proceeded to fall down - which now made complete sense, as it was usually the frustrated aftermath of Spear Break training.

_I was inspired by the stars to focus a previously-unrealized habit of mine into a new art: a variant of the traditional Down Kick that eschews team synergy for individual reliability. It shall be named appropriately._

_But first, a question._ "Reyn, I must ask you something."

"Oh? What?"

She hesitated for a moment, not entirely comfortable with the question, but too curious to pass on it. "What...what exactly does it mean to be, or have, a "tight arse"?"

There was an awkward silence as Reyn tried to figure out how he was supposed to answer that kind of question to a prim-and-proper person.

Melia tried to defuse things a bit. "It's...it's a phrase I have heard directed at me in the past, but I have never had its meaning explained. I...presume it is intended to be offensive in some way, given the...er, vulgar form of "buttocks" used."

Reyn continued to fidget like mad. "Uh, erm...well...it's like...well, okay I guess there's two things it could mean? So okay the first one is when, um, you've got someone who's...who's real...stingy. Yeah, stingy. Like, they've got scads of cash, but still only buy the cheapest stuff. Or they do everything the old way and never try the new stuff, like, they think tradition's better just because it's tradition and won't hear anything about it. So...so that's one. The second is more like...like...urhm, so...so there's a girl. A real looker. Specifically in...in th...the...the bum area. Yeah I'm done, I'm no good with this. Sorry."

"That is all right, I've heard enough to understand." _Both of those meanings make sense in the context of disgruntled citizens attempting to insult me._

"FRIENDS!" Riki had finally appeared from below the cliff, flapping his wings like mad. "F-Friends! Heropon is back from surprise fall!"

"Oh _there_ you are, you airbag." Reyn got to his feet; he couldn't stop himself from being upset at Riki, as it was his disappearance that started the whole problem. "For how much you stuff down that gullet you're still quite the lightweight."

"Riki no expect surprise attack! Riki sorry sorry!" He plopped himself down on the ground, worn out from the long flight back up from the Frieght Road. "Riki let friends down during big fight. Riki wallow in sad."

Reyn grunted and started heading back towards the Illustrious Alighting. Melia watched him leave before kneeling down beside Riki.

"Come now Riki, how is wallowing going to accomplish anything?"

"Riki being punished for letting friends down. Next time, Riki use memory of wallowing for extra motivation, so it no happen again."

Melia couldn't help herself from shaking her head as she picked up the Nopon. "Nonsense. What happened happened, and couldn't have happened any other way. Being depressed about it does no one any good. Besides, while it was indeed a hardship, an unexpected benefit came out of your absence: I have discovered a new method of dispatching Mechon."

"Melly has a new art?" Riki's mood instantly reversed. "Melly has new special move for big bad Mechons? Tell Riki, tell tell tell!"

"It is called...Starlight Kick." Saying it out loud for the first time seemed to cement it further into her mind. "I can use it immediately after Spear Break to topple foes without need for a traditional break."

"Ooohhh. Melly has _different_ art, close-range smackpow art. Big surprise to baddies, but no work with ether gems. Melly clever, but big risk involved."

"That is a fair assessment. It would be suboptimal at best for me to shoehorn such a combination into my battle strategy, but if the opportunity ever presents itself, or the situation is dire, it will be an invaluable tool."

"Hooray for new art!" Riki threw all four of his hands into the air. "Now friends return to Colony 6. Other friends be waiting!"

"Of course, Riki." Melia walked alongside him back to her ship. She couldn't wait to see the look on Shulk's face after revealing her new secret weapon.


	27. Bookends

It felt good to exit the tunnel that connected Valak Moutain to Sword Valley. Now that they had traversed the freezing region and ascertained the lay of the land, they were safe to fly from one end to the other, only stepping back into the snow if they had additional business to take care of.

Melia looked out across the valley, recalling the one previous time she had been here. Seeing her as a non-threat, the Mechon had made it a point to ignore her as she conducted trade with the machines. But there was no point in telling the others of this strategy - any Mechon would recognize the Monado on sight and either attack or flee, and if they were bold enough to attack Alcamoth simply because the Monado was there, it didn't take a genius to realize they would fight for every step through their home territory.

_The question is, how safe is it for my craft to be in this area? It does have a minimal radar presence and no weapons, so it should not be considered a threat, but if all Mechon are on high alert they may very well fire at anything. Hopefully, we can find a few soft spots in their defenses that we can use as launchpads, but if not we may be forced to continue through the entire region in one go._

"What's that?" Reyn pointed at a series of High Entia ships that were stationed not far away.

Melia was surprised. _That is most unusual indeed. No one ever travels here; the entire sword is considered a no-fly zone._

"A supply convoy," Alvis stated. "It would be most unwise to proceed without restocking our supplies."

"You arranged this for us?" asked Shulk.

Alvis nodded. Melia almost nodded as well. _The seer likely saw what day we would arrive here and suggested a convoy arrive for it, reaching as close as is safe into Mechonis territory._

Reyn jumped. "Hey, it's...!"

"Dickson!" Shulk started dashing towards the convoy. Reyn and Dunban quickly followed, while Sharla and Alvis sped up only slightly, and Melia and Riki continued at walking pace.

_So this is the Dickson that Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban speak so highly of? It will be interesting to finally meet-_

Melia stopped dead. Something was wrong. No, something was _very_ wrong. And it was quite plainly obvious what it was: the blue-vested man that the others were now excitedly conversing with. Normally, she had to put effort into reading a being's ether signature, but this one's stood out like a sore thumb, demanding attention like a man wearing crimson red in a crowd of people wearing plain black.

Riki had also skittered to a stop, and turned to Melia once he realized she was staring motionless. "Riki can feel it too, Melly."

"You can?"

"Yes, yes. Riki is not sure what he is feeling. But is not normal Hom Hom feeling, no at all. It like...like old man Hom Hom is very very very much older than he looks."

"...I am unsure whether I would agree on that front, but there is most certainly something unusual about him. To me it feels more like..." She struggled to find applicable words; it was like trying to describe a colour she had never seen before to a blind person. "I can sense an alien resonance I have seen of no other species of this world."

"Oooh, yes. Like old man Hom Hom does not belong. Like old man Hom Hom supposed to be dead many years ago. Hmm, hmm." Riki shuddered a bit. "Riki no like to approach this Hom Hom. Gives Riki shiver-scares."

Melia looked back towards the group, which was just now starting to realize that two of their number had hung back. "I do not think we have a choice at the moment. The others are awaiting us."

"Oh...Riki understand." He made to step forwards but abrupty stopped again. "Riki and Melly keep this a secret?"

"...For now, I suppose. It would do no good to form a prejudice against a man that our friends have known for years. But I feel at some point we must voice our distrust."

Riki nodded and continued on his way. Melia followed slowly.

The remaining part of the conversation was not terribly interesting or insightful. Dickson had sold the party some expensive anti-Mechon weapons, after which he and Alvis returned to Alcamoth.

"Looks like it's just us." A tangible wave of relief washed over Melia. Just being near Dickson was incredibly unsettling. It didn't help that he made absolutely no effort to interact with her nor Riki, and Sharla seemed left out of the conversation as well.

"Right!" Dunban called. "We head for the hilt of the sword - Galahad Fortress."

"OK!" Shulk led the party westward.

Melia put a hand around the Imperial Staff resting on her belt, wanting to feel something comfortable to offset Dickson's unnatural aura. She had taken one look at the Anti-Mechon Rod that he had crafted and sold it back to the Homs operating the shop immediately for full price; she didn't need a staff appraiser or professional ethermaster to tell her that a staff of personal family history would always outperform one made of an unfamiliar metal by a shady stranger. True, it might handicap her damage output versus the Mechon slightly, but as team support was her primary objective in battle she didn't think it would matter much. Besides, if she badly needed full power against a Mechon foe, she could topple it by herself if necessary.

Shulk caught her eye. "You look really worried," he observed. "Is something wrong?"

Melia decided that there would probably be no better time. "I cannot bring myself to trust this Dickson."

Reyn immediately interrupted. "What? Can't trust Dickson? C'mon Melia, the guy's a legend! Helped Dunban with the Monado 'n' all! Helped win us the Battle of Sword Valley a year ago! Just let us have a pick of shiny new anti-Mechon weapons! Can't trust him? Pshaw, just you wait. He'll show up again later with even more new toys, he's uncanny with directions and knowin' his way around."

Shulk backed him up. "Dickson's the one who rescued me and took me to Colony 9 years ago. Since then, he's been a big help at the lab, and he taught me how to make weapons and shields and stuff. He's a hundred percent on our side."

Dunban nodded. "He and I have been friends ever since he immigrated from another colony. We've saved each other more times than I can count. I trust him with my life."

 _If Mumkhar is any indication, you have exceptionally poor taste in friends._ Melia had to use all her willpower to not slap herself in the face for merely conceiving of such an insensitive remark.

Sharla had to insert her opinion. "I don't know him personally all that well, but he helped us cross the marsh when we needed to climb the Bionis, and he's known as a hero in both our colonies. You'll warm up to him."

"Do...do none of you truly feel the slightest bit uncertain?" Given how obvious it was to her, it was difficult for Melia to believe that even an ether-weak Homs could really be completely blind to the unnerving aura that surrounded Dickson.

"Riki shares what Melly thinks. Riki feel something not right with old Hom Hom."

"He's a bit of a clod, I'll give you that," Reyn said. "But you'll learn to deal with him. Shulk has, and he ain't gone wrong yet, has he?"

Shulk and Dunban laughed with him.

_...I suppose that much is true. Whatever my personal issues with him may be, if he has been a surrogate father of Shulk's for fourteen years, and Brother trusts him enough to be a high-ranked member of the allied force, he must have some redeeming qualities._

_Actually, that presents a relevant avenue of investigation. Does Brother feel the same unsettling emanations that I do? And if so, why does he provide him with such a position? Once we next return to Alcamoth I shall ask him about it._

_I hope I remember to do so._ Melia continued west with the others. It occurred to her that she had seen Dunban fight his way through the valley before, though from an extreme distance and no knowledge of what exactly was going on. She eagerly awaited his retelling of events as they proceeded forwards.

* * *

_Shulk is such a fool. How can one be so brilliant in mind yet oblivious to reality?  
_

It was an oddly calm thought to cross Melia's mind, given the current situation. But to be honest, she'd had similar dreams many times, to the point where falling from the collapsing Galahad Fortress was really no big deal.

Like all those born in Alcamoth, she had been trained as a child in the basics of skydiving just in case of ever falling towards the sea. It was second nature to open herself up and catch as much wind as possible in her flappy clothes, slowing her fall enough so that she was a ways above the others.

Dunban and Riki were to the west. With Dunban unable to slow his own fall very well, Riki had latched himself onto the Homs' right side to act as a surrogate arm. Sharla and Reyn had been knocked southward and seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit now that the initial shock had worn off, taking turns in performing acrobatic stunts. It seemed like the kind of thing they'd done before back at their home colonies, though with much shorter falls. Neither pairing seemed capable of altering their trajectory enough to meet up, even given how long the fall would be.

Meanwhile, Shulk was to the north, mindlessly cluching the chassis of Face Nemesis, far below everyone else. It was impossible to tell at this distance whether he was doing anything other than just hanging on, but it seemed pretty clear he had no intention of letting go, even if he would need to in order to survive. As long as he landed in sufficiently deep water he would be safe, but the silver wreck looked to be heading for a large and shallow beach, far down on the Fallen Arm.

Having ascertained everyone else's positions, Melia began considering what they were going to do after their fall, which would certainly take several hours. From the looks of it, it appeared rather certain that the party would be split up for the forseeable future. They would each have to try and guide themselves into deep water and then seek each other out on the unknown terrain.

Not much was known of the Fallen Arm. The unusual amount of vegetation present suggested that there were not many Mechon there if any, but its extreme distance from Alcamoth made it effectively pointless to investigate; its position was of complete strategical irrelevance, save for perhaps wreckage retrieval from the fortress overhead. It was an open question as to how the Mechonis had acquired a replacement arm; the process had been so slow that it was never really noticed across history.

Melia considered summoning the Illustrious Alighting in order to stop her own fall and subsequently collect the others, but further thought concluded that it wasn't really possible to do so. She could only summon the craft to her current position, so by the time it arrived she would be kilometres below. In addition, they were still in Mechonis airspace, and while the party had found a few safe locations on the sword they could operate from, there was no telling what sort of anti-aircraft systems could possibly be in place on the Fallen Arm. The party would have to meet up on foot.

_Sharla and Reyn are paired up. Dunban and Riki are paired up. Assuming that the silver-faced Mechon remains inert, Shulk and I are alone. I appear to be the only one capable of aiming my descent to any reasonable degree, and also potentially the only one aware of where all of the others are. Therefore, I should pair up with Shulk, to ensure that none of us are alone._

Melia started guiding herself northwards and falling into a dive. It took quite a while to finally catch up to Shulk and the plummeting Face Mechon, but once she eventually did, she saw that Shulk was trying to break into it - prying at covers, jabbing at seams, and the like.

"SHULK!" She didn't expect him to hear her over the rushing wind, but it was worth a try.

As expected, Shulk continued blindly working away, probably completely unaware anyone else was with him. Jamming the inactive Monado into the front hatch, he couldn't get it open wide enough to remain open once the tool was removed. It seemed like he was also trying to talk to the hatch, or more specifically the person stationed inside that he was trying to extract.

Uncomfortable with maintaining her dive for too long, Melia pulled up and aimed to hang above the falling husk, allowing its wake to keep her close while still in her spread-eagle formation.

_Stop it, you buffoon. Let her go. Either she crashes into the ground, or she sinks to the bottom of the sea. There's nothing you can do about it._

It was a surprisingly bitter thought process. She was a bit disturbed at how easily it flowed. She'd never met this Fiora, and now she was hoping that Shulk would come to his senses and abandon any hope of rescuing her? It was shockingly heartless.

Shulk had moved on to trying to get some other piece of the chassis free, about half the size of a surfboard. It was impressive how he was able to continuously work towards his goal despite falling at terminal velocity. Eventually, he got his target piece loose, and started using it to pry open the front hatch. As he did, the assembly started turning more northward, its geometry changed enough to alter its path.

Melia naturally followed along, remaining solidly in the Mechon's wake. It looked like it was now on target to land just offshore, enough that Shulk looked to have a fifty-fifty shot of surviving even if he remained completely oblivious.

_His determination to succeed is truly impressive. It's like...a compulsion to save as many lives as possible. Certainly a noble undertaking, but he shouldn't be doing so at risk to his own life. Egil is still at large, and until he falls, we will need the Monado and its wielder. One life, even one with potential inside knowledge, is not worth-_

With the front hatch now open to his satisfaction, Shulk tossed away the piece of metal he had been using to wedge it. It tumbled through the air and struck Melia flush in the face.

The world instantly turned black. The rushing air stopped, replaced by the sensation of being in a sandy bath.

Realizing her eyes were closed, Melia opened them to find she was laying face-down in the surf of a beach, only her head out of the water. Giant metal walls surrounded the sand. The sky was just starting to change from pure blue.

"Is Melly awake?" Riki's voice came from her right. She looked over to see that he and Dunban were sitting on the sand beside her.

"...yes." The unpleasant feeling of being wet while clothed now fully sunk in, Melia pulled herself out of the water and onto her feet. She felt a bit wobbly, and her face was rather sore, but she was otherwise fine.

Dunban nodded. "We didn't want to move you in case you had broken something."

"I am not injured." Melia looked to the east, where it made sense for the other three party members to be. "I last recall being struck by a piece of the silver-faced Mechon. What happened after that?"

"Ah, so that explains it," Dunban answered. "You started tumbling uncontrollably in our direction. Once you landed in the water, we did what we could to land as close as possible."

"I see." She couldn't bring herself to blame Shulk; after all, he had no clue she was there. It was her own fault for sitting in the wake of an object with fragmentation potential. "Do you know what happened with the others?"

Dunban looked towards the massive metal walls. "They're somewhere over that way. Shulk and the Mechon to the north, Reyn and Sharla to the south. But it looks like we may need to go the long way around to find them. There's no telling how long it would take to swim around the north side here."

"Then we should not waste any more time. Shulk is alone with a malfunctioning weapon, potentially in the company of a powerful malfunctioning Faced Mechon, and from my estimate may not have reached the sea in time. We must find him with all speed." Melia set off in the only available direction.

Riki hopped up to follow. "Melly cannot call ship to help?"

"We know nothing of this land, and it may take much time for it to arrive. So no, it is not currently a viable option. Only once we have exhausted the possibility of a Mechon presence here will it be safe." _And I hope that is the case, as my craft is likely the only way for us to return to the Bionis._

"Then I suppose we might as well get started." Dunban stood up to bring up the rear. "We can't have the young ones having all the fun of exploring this new land."

 _...hmm, yes, this is indeed the older half of the group._ Melia continued on.

It didn't take long for her pace to slow. The sky continued turning orange as the other two eventually passed her. She opportunistically plucked some fruit off nearby trees, which she deemed safe enough to eat after a few minutes of experimentation, but it didn't much help her rapidly-declining stamina. Everything that had happened that day was catching up to her. But the thought of Shulk being alone in the world kept her moving.

"Friends stop for Riki!" The Nopon suddenly halted in place. "Riki very hungry! And Riki sleepy! If Riki not rest now, Riki not keep going!"

"We can't have that, can we?" Dunban looked around; there were some hostile-looking fish out in the deeper waters, but they had yet to see any land-dwelling creatures that could disrupt them. "We'll rest here before going any further. Melia, do you need to rest?"

"I am fine." She didn't even consider the question; she wanted to continue on to find Shulk and the others as fast as possible. But now that she had stopped walking, she found it quite difficult to get going again. Her tiredness seemed to be accelerating.

"Good! Break time!" Riki plopped himself down on the sand. Dunban quickly followed.

Melia didn't want to sit down; she could tell that if she did, she wouldn't be able to stand back up again any time soon. But it would be incredibly rude to remain upright while her companions rested. She reluctantly allowed herself to descend onto the sand.

It was less than a minute before she felt her body fall sideways. She was asleep before she hit the ground.

_Melia felt like she had been trapped in a jar. She was hunched over in a ball and couldn't move a muscle, with a chilling metal surrounding her on all sides. Her experience rolling through the ductwork of Alcamoth wasn't enough to save her from an onset of claustrophobia._

_"We shall soon see." The voice was familiar, but it took a moment to place - it was Egil. "Activate Amethyst Face."_

_A disturbing feeling washed over Melia's body. It felt like she was now standing idle wearing a bodysuit of sheet metal. Her eyes opened without her willing them to, revealing that she was in some sort of mechanical laboratory, though everything felt like it was half the size it was supposed to be._

_It didn't take long to realize what was going on._

_"No!" The unconscious shout was distorted and mechanized. She held her hands in front of her face to see two thin gauntlets attatched to purple-hued Mechon arms._

_A sigh of Egil's passed through a speaker. "Disappointing. This specimen is quite resilient to the erasure process. Another round will have to be done." A slight pause. "Deactivate the Face."_

_Melia whirled around to rip all the cables and restraints from her giant Mechon body. She spotted an equally giant staff attached to the wall and tore it free, sensing that her own staff had been encased inside. She blasted the doors open with a staff strike and began running, with no plan other than escape._

_After running though an uncountable set of identical-looking corridors, she came upon the Fortress Depths, the room from which everyone had fallen. Yaldabaoth was waiting for her._

_"Do not waste your energy attempting escape," Egil's voice taunted. "Be grateful that I saw fit to keep your biological body intact, to fully harness the ether powers you possess."_

_Melia knew that if Face Nemesis could barely even hold off Yaldabaoth, she had very little hope. But on the other hand, Egil appeared to have no control over her at the moment, and there would certainly be tighter security next time around. She had to take this chance._

_It felt as natural as ever to summon a bolt and cast it at the enemy, even though the resulting elemental was doubled in size just like the armour she was trapped inside. It struck the gold-faced Mechon to deal substantial damage, staggering and knocking him back slightly._

_Another disappointed sigh. "Very well."_

_Egil fired a red ball of energy from his palm that Melia was unable to avoid. She instantly felt herself become disconnected from her Mechon body. She was back inside the jar, blind and helpless._

_"Foolish."_

Melia woke up in a cold sweat. It was the middle of the night; with overcast skies, there was no way to estimate the exact time. She quickly stretched out every muscle that she had, ensuring that she had full range of motion. It wasn't the first time she had a dream about being turned into a Face Mechon, but it was the first in which Egil himself had appeared; the previous times had all featured a taunting Metal Face. She wasn't quite sure which was worse; Metal Face's attitude was rude and disparaging, but the Egil version seemed much more real.

Dunban and Riki were both asleep. They apparently had grilled fish; about a quarter of a fish was sitting over the embers of a fire. Melia was slightly hungry, but decided not to eat any; it would delay her from going back to sleep.

Now quite chilly and uncomfortable from laying on the beach, she clapped a copious amount of sand off herself and pulled the sleeping bag out of her travel pouch. She didn't care if it would reveal she had woken up in the night; she wanted a soft surface more than anything to offset the cruel hardness that had manifested in her dream. She wanted to have the best rest possible for the resumption of the search for Shulk and the others.

* * *

Melia closed the book with satisfaction and immediately grabbed her staff, summoning three winds in record time. She could feel the breezy power of the elementals flow stronger than ever, sure to deal more damage than before the next time they were to be used in battle. She picked the book back up and looked over it once more, pleased that she had now squeezed even more potential out of another one of her arts.

There was a knock on the bedroom door. Fiora's room had been set up to host all three girls, but Melia was the only one there at the moment. The group had decided for this to be a personal day, where everyone could just go and do what they wanted without feeling pressured by anything else, and she had chosen to stay in and read.

"You may enter."

Shulk's head peeked through the door. "Um...is this a bad time?"

"Actually, it is a perfect time." Melia held up the book in her hands. "I have just completed this book, and was about to decide which one to read next."

"Oh, okay. That actually works out great." Shulk stepped into the room and offered the book he was holding. "I heard you saying you were looking for some good books. Which I guess is what you were reading just now. Well, I rooted around in the lab and found this one. One of my old favourites, actually, I didn't read a lot of stories but this was one of them. Might be worth a borrow."

The illustration on the cover was simple - six piles of stones in a sandy circle, with a larger rock in the centre. The book was titled _The Saga of Mata Nui_ , by Smeg Farshtey.

Somewhat speechless, Melia carefully reached forward to take the book. She had never read a Homs novel before; it felt a bit weird to flip through the pages and see so much Homs lettering. She knew nothing about it save the title, yet it had completely captured her attention.

Shulk was busy staring at the cover of her recently-completed book, carefully passing over each letter in sequence. "... _Waker of the Winds_?"

Melia was surprised out of her trance. "Yes, by Nohansen Dragmire. When did you learn to read our alphabet?"

"A bit here and there." He pulled a folded and crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and tried to smooth it out, revealing a handwritten chart for converting between High Entia and Homs lettering; the letter J was the only missing piece. "I started with your name, because it was pretty easy to pick out from the headlines and stuff. From there I just compared what I knew to other things and filled in the blanks."

Melia couldn't really relate to Shulk's learning of a second alphabet; she was natively bilingual, and for as long as she could remember had been able to read both languages in both scripts. But her instinct was that it must have been quite difficult for a monolingual person to even advance this far without help.

She reached for a nearby pen and inscribed the Erythscript J into the chart. "There."

"Hey, thanks." Shulk looked at the final letter, its perfect inked shape standing out from its neighbours' graphite scrawl. "I'm feeling a bit dumb now. Why didn't I ask for your help with this in the first place? I guess I figured you wouldn't have time for something like that."

 _Oh Shulk, I always have time for you._ The spontaneous thought made it difficult to keep a straight and unflustered face.

"So how many other books have you read lately?" Shulk looked sideways at one of the piles, trying to read the spines with vertical text. "I mean, that's a pretty big pile you have there. They all part of a series or something?"

"Several." Melia looked down through the pile of completed novels. While a variety of informational non-fiction books were the catalyst to her first round of art-related inspiration, she had found much more success towards a second leap in ability within the realm of fiction. " _Waker of the Winds_ chronicles a child who sailed the seas to defeat evil. _Path of Radiance_ follows a mercenary who is the catalyst of a kingdom's restoration. _Echoes of Aether_ shows two parallel worlds fighting over a shared source of energy. _Russwall_ looks into a community in the wilderness beset by siege. _The Thousand-Year Door_ is a tale of friendship against an ancient curse. _Nightmare in Dream Land_ follows a lone hero of many talents in a world of dreams. _Uprising_ is the journey of an angel fighting battles for his goddess."

Shulk nodded and reached out to take one of the other seven books that had yet to be named. "How about we trade? Trying to read one of these books will help me practice your letters and stuff."

"I have no objection." Melia noted that the book Shulk had randomly picked was _The Subspace Emissary_. "That one in particular might be a little challenging; I myself had some difficulty parsing some of the popular culture references."

"Well I can always come to you for help then, right?" Shulk raised his eyesbrows in a "hah I've got you there, eh?" fashion.

Melia could feel that her face was a bit redder than it was a moment ago. She tried to hide it by reading the back summary of the Homs novel.

_This island has been a paradise for as long as anyone can remember. Tropical seas, wild jungle, broiling mountains, bountiful lands, endless desert, and pristine glacier all formed a land where anyone could live as they choose. But the stars tell prophecies that peace will not last forever, and it has begun. A sickness is covering the land, turning docile creatures into rampaging beasts, and it feels like the very earth seeks to swallow us. Our only hope may be that legendary heroes of untold might descend from the heavens, casting prophecy against prophecy in a war predicted eons ago. Which foretold events will come to pass, and which are mere rumours? We cannot know until it is time._

To Melia's surprise, once she had finished reading the summary, Shulk was still there, kind of staring off to the side.

"Are you...all right, Shulk?"

"...um, kind of. Maybe." He looked down before looking sideways again. "I was...I was thinking about Dickson. About how...how you and Riki could tell there was something wrong with him the moment you met him. And we just ignored you, figured that you just had to get to know him more and the weird feelings would go away. And...and you ended up being right."

Melia was not prepared for Shulk to bring up a serious subject. She felt the best way to proceed would be to downplay herself. "Shulk, I could only sense that something was not as it seemed to be. I had no way to determine what it could be."

"But you had a guess, right? I mean, there's only so many things that you can tell just by looking at a guy, isn't there?"

"...I suppose you are correct." She considered for a moment how to explain. "I have seen many things and people in my life. Over time, it becomes easy to notice patterns in beings' ether signatures. At present, I find it second nature to determine what species a particular ether signature belongs to, without needing sight."

"Really?" Shulk now leaned forwards with interest. "That's pretty cool. So...so I guess you knew before we did that the Faced Mechon had people in them?"

Melia had to think about it. "Not really. It is a sense I often have to consciously invoke. There was...a lot of other things going on at that time."

"Oh, right. But you noticed whatever Dickson was right away, it seems."

"Indeed. I saw a Homs standing before me, but could feel something altogether different that even now I cannot place. It was such a jarring disconnect that it could not be ignored."

"So...so you think that Dickson is not a Homs?"

"I do not know what other conclusion I can draw. His ether signature is not that of a Homs, High Entia, Nopon, Machina, any combination thereof, or any other race I know of." She paused for a moment before deciding to continue her thought. "That is the only reason I distrusted him. I had no reason to believe he would turn against us."

Shulk nodded but didn't respond, preferring to let silence fall for a moment.

Melia was left to consider her own words. Did she truly believe that Dickson's species was the only thing suspicious about him, or did she say so just to make Shulk feel better? She wasn't sure. It was difficult to recall her thoughts about him before the events of Mechonis Core. In theory, if she had had any specific misgivings serious enough to consider voicing, even though she never did so, she would be able to remember them.

With Dickson in mind, Lorithia quickly followed. Melia had to admit that if she were to be told that there was a traitor in the upper echelons of the ministry, Lorithia would be her first guess, what with her haughty attitude and always seeming to know too much. She could thank the immoral scum for one thing, however - without the Illustrious Alighting that she had put so much work into, the party would be a woefully underequipped mess with little help from a bare-bones Colony 6. That said, if she didn't have the chance to work on such an advanced craft, maybe she wouldn't have been able to have enough freedom during the production of the Havres to make the vehicles Telethia-in-waiting.

"What do you know about Alvis?" Shulk's eyes turned away from the wall and back towards Melia. "I've been meaning to ask for a while, actually, but...never got around to it I guess."

"About Alvis?" She didn't expect the question, but her own thought process was beginning to veer in that direction, so it wasn't hard to answer. "Very little, unfortunately. We have employed his bloodline for untold ages, with each seer providing critical visions to forewarn the emperor of terrible riots, terrorism, catastrophes, and other critical moments before they became part of history. As part of respecting such a vanishingly rare power to ensure they would never move their allegiance elsewhere, the seer and his family was always granted almost unequivocal freedom across Alcamoth and the Bionis, and no questioning was ever made into the nature of their gift of foresight."

"Right, okay, but what about Alvis in particular?"

"I...cannot say I know much about Alvis as a person. We only ever interacted a handful of times before I met you. But..." _Is this the proper time to tell him of the vision of our meeting, and us "changing the world together"? ...No, not today._ "But the few times we did meet, he had my best interests in mind. He once personally delivered me a piece of information that saved my life. I...find it difficult to believe he would...if he...that he would..." She shook her head, trying to straighten out her thoughts. "If Alvis were truly loyal to Zanza, and Zanza were truly fated to return regardless of whatever happened, why would he continue to shape the future by revealing his visions?"

"Exactly." Shulk's hands started gesturing at random. "Alvis has helped lead us along a certain path. If _all_ paths led to Zanza, why would he bother? It really doesn't seem like he just wants to mess with us in particular, so why would he put in all that extra work if he gets the same result either way? That's why I think he's somehow still on our side. He's helped me way too much. He's...I think he's helped us enough to give us a chance."

Melia nodded and reached out to grab one of the other books she had recently completed. "This is the final entry in the Glenny Poller series, _The Tethers of Passing_. It features a character whose true alliance has seemed to switch back and forth between two factions over the course of the narrative, never squarely on one side or the other. Upon appearing to make the final decision of siding with the dark forces in the previous volume, it is ultimately revealed that they have been on the protagonist's side all along, even during the times which they committed the worst acts. And it is only with this knowledge that the hero succeeds."

"Yeah, that's...that's a lot like what Alvis has done. He's on one side, but he has to play both to stick around long enough for things to turn out properly."

"I agree. There is however one thing that worries me. Zanza made mention that he has been reborn many times in a cycle. Alvis is no more than a Homs with foresight more limited than yours, born no more than thirty or thirty-five years ago. What could he possibly do to aid us beyond this point?"

Shulk shook his head. "Alvis isn't just a Homs. He's...something else, something greater."

Melia couldn't stop a scoff from escaping her nose. "Shulk, he is as much a Homs as you are. Of that I am certain."

"Are you sure?"

She was about to respond with an "of course I'm sure", but she was forced to consider it for a moment. "There is indeed a small part of his ether signature that is not part of the typical Homs pattern. But as I have no other information to work with, I must conclude that it is related to his foresight. And..." _...am I seeing things, or am I getting the very same sensation from Shulk as of this very moment?_ "And I can also sense a very similar feeling from you." _How long has that been the case? Has it always been there, obscured by the Monado? Or has Shulk's signature changed as a result of recent events?_

Shulk nodded slowly. "Makes sense to me. Thanks, Melia."

"Oh no, thank _you_. I...I must admit that the subject of Alvis has been eating at me ever since he left our side. It...was very difficult to believe he would serve the imperial family with such loyalty, only to join Zanza at essentially the first opportunity. It is a relief to discuss this with someone else, and come to an agreement that he may still be with us in some fashion."

"Well...that's why I'm here. Why the rest of us are here, really. Friends talk about things." He thought for a moment. "Dunban once said that problems are like butter. Tastes terrible in a big block, but once you spread them out, they're just another condiment on life. Or maybe he said peanut butter. Could've been either." He shrugged. "I hope you enjoy that book." With that, he left.

Melia listened to him walk down the stairs and exit the front door. The vision of them meeting came back to mind. It was becoming ever more difficult to believe that it was meant as a marriage prophecy, given that they had already quite gravely changed the world together as friends. But then again, it still felt firmly within the realm of possibility - if no one could solve the problem of Fiora's body, Shulk would surely gravitate towards her once he was ready to move on.

 _No, stop using a friend's immiment death as a way to rationalize affection towards another friend._ She was disgusted with herself for being so continually desperate for Fiora to just expire, despite her being just as much of a friend as the others. Yet she couldn't stop herself from thinking about the night in Junks, where she came closer than she probably ever would to confessing her true feelings towards the unconscious Shulk, remembering the tiniest details perfectly except for whether her kiss had actually connected before she pulled away. Her brain was grateful for having another skilled companion to fight alongside, but her heart was aghast that it felt like her one true companion was so set on an existing love that he effectively (though unknowingly) initiated the destruction of the world simply to avenge it.

It sometimes felt like the hardest part of being entranced by Shulk was that there was a perfectly serviceable way to resolve the situation - a three-way relationship akin to how the emperor would take two consorts - that the two Homs were sure to not understand nor accept. After all, Shulk remained completely and impressively oblivious; it would surely be incredibly difficult for him to believe that she held any feelings for him at all. And as cheerful and easygoing as Fiora was, it was equally difficult to believe she would stand for sharing her boyfriend with a relative stranger, even if she had effectively given said stranger permission to take her place if necessary.

Melia clenched her fists and violently shook her head, sick of this train of thought that kept coming back no matter how hard she tried to keep it away. At least for the time being she had one way to stall it: she opened the borrowed novel to the first page and began to read.


	28. Final Exam

Before they had found themselves on the Fallen Arm, the party rotated meal duties along themselves for the most part. Melia was excused because everyone understood she had never made a meal before in her life, and Riki was also skipped because he was content with eating flowers and fungi straight off the ground. Reyn's barbequing skills weren't bad, but he was hopeless when it came to anything that wasn't meat. Shulk and Dunban didn't know much aside from sandwiches and soups, which was acceptable if bland. Sharla was the best cook of the group, even though she had to constantly remind herself to not overspice everything.

But once Fiora joined them, she was happy to take over as the party's full-time chef. The three from Colony 9 were overjoyed, and the other three instantly learned to love her varied and perfectly-well-done dishes, even those formed of experimental ingredients they had collected from across the world. In Melia's opinion, she was certainly qualified to serve royalty on a regular basis, and in fact managed to get the palace chefs to provide a number of favourite recipes for her to try.

Of course, the painful irony was that Fiora had no stomach. Aside from a semiannual topping off of an internal vitamin dispenser, Face Mechon Core Units were designed to run off no nourishment but water, in order to remove the need for any sort of waste disposal systems. As a result, she could drink any sufficiently thin fluid, but anything solid would cause her Mechon innards to choke. She was barely able to even taste-test her own creations.

Until today. Two days ago, Shulk had found a juicer in one of the last remaining wreckage piles of Colony 6. He suggested to Linada that it be inserted into Fiora's input systems, allowing her to take in any sort of food as long as she drank enough liquid alongside it. It wasn't necessary in any way, but he just couldn't deal with her being unable to enjoy her own work any longer, watching her sit and gaze mournfully at the others while they ate. After careful investigation and consideration, the hour-long operation was completed this afternoon. And now it was time for the jury-rigged system to be put to the test.

Everyone sat at the table in Dunban's kitchen with their food untouched in front of them, waiting for Fiora to serve herself and sit down. Tittering with excitement, she took her first mouthful slowly with a look of immense pleasure on her face.

"It feels good to chew again," she said as soon as she had swallowed.

Her eyes suddenly widened as the juicer inside her started up, emitting a quiet whirr and causing her to shake a bit. "Oooh hooh hoooooh, that's a funny feeling. I hope I didn't accidentally use the jumping beans."

Everyone took the joke as confirmation of success and started eating their own portions.

As usual, the topic of conversation soon turned to tomorrow's plans. Shulk was in charge of documenting who they'd offered help to and where they stood for each request, using a notebook full of messy text and rough drawings.

"...So if I'm not missing anything, we've done all that the High Entia refugees have asked of us, and for now at least none of them have given us anything else." He looked over the index at the front to be sure. "So that's it for Alcamoth. I don't think we'll have to go back there."

"Actually," Melia spoke up somewhat nervously, "there is one more thing."

"Oh?" Dunban seemed surprised. "Who asked more of us?"

"...Myself."

The others exchanged curious and worried glances before looking back to Melia for an explanation.

She took a deep breath before beginning her long-prepared speech. "It is an open question as to whether anyone can live safely, let alone comfortably, in Alcamoth again. I feel that I must return to the palace in order to collect as many of my possessions as possible, in preparation for living in this colony for the forseeable future."

The rest of the table nodded and murmured as they processed the request.

"How long you been sitting on that idea?" asked Reyn. "We couldn't do it last time we were there?"

"Moving out isn't that easy," said Sharla. "It's not the kind of thing you can do as a side job. You have to put all your effort into it."

"How many things do you have, though?" Shulk seemed to be envisioning something. "Like, how many trips will it take?"

Melia hadn't really considered exactly how much stuff she was planning to rescue; it was hard to recall what-all she had without having been in her chambers for quite a while. "I should hope we only require one trip, for whatever the most important items are and nothing more. Maybe later, if things become a bit safer, we could return for the less-important objects."

"If Melly wants last visit to get things, then that what friends do! Heropon's and sidekicks' number-one-job is to help others!" Riki began his third and final plate of food; Fiora had set a hard rule of "no one gets more than three portions", to try and stop herself from running out of ingredients too quickly.

There was assent from all around the table.

"So we'll need suitcases, and maybe a handcart." Shulk opened up his notebook to a new page, preparing to make a list of things they had to bring.

Something suddenly occurred to Melia. "That won't be necessary. I already possess suitcases." _And I had always thought they were pointless, expecting to live in the palace forever. I'll never know what their intended purpose was, but it looks like they'll be good for something after all._ "And I do not possess anything large enough to require a handcart."

"Oh okay." Shulk closed the notebook.

Fiora had been eating slowly and carefully, enjoying her first proper meal in a while, and so hadn't really joined the conversation until now. "So how about we leave tomorrow morning? I don't think anything we still have to do could be more important than this."

Everyone instantly agreed. Melia felt a sense of relief come over her. She had originally planned to undertake the task in secret during the night sometime, slowly sneaking back and forth through the palace carrying an armful of things at a time, but it didn't take long to realize how selfish and risky doing so would be. Having her companions along, not out of obligation but out of friendship, would make everything much easier.

* * *

Imperial Pinnacle was the topmost spire of Alcamoth. While it was structurally part of the palace, its centrallized nature made it ideal for acting as a major transport hub between all parts of the city. Despite this, the average citizen tended to steer clear and stick to more localized transport centres, not wishing to deal with the incredibly high spire and its exposure to the elements. While very few High Entia were afraid of heights, many still felt a bit woozy from seeing the entire city laid out below them.

Melia docked the Illustrious Alighting off the western side of the spire. With the city now infested with Telethia, simply flying into the city proper was exceptionally dangerous. But the Telethia seemed to have little to no interest in the extreme height of the pinnacle, keeping it clear as the safest place to begin operations from. Having dozens of transport pads that linked to everywhere they could want to go was a welcome bonus.

The mood was a fair bit more tense than the last several times the party had arrived at Alcamoth to fulfill someone's wishes. Of course, this made a degree of sense, as they weren't the desires of a stranger being carried out today. The group remained silent and alert as they disembarked the Illustrious Alighting and took the transporter that led directly into the palace - something they wouldn't be able to do if no member of the imperial family was present.

Immediately after transporting, Riki broke the silence. "Dinobeast!"

A bipedal Telethia was present in the transport centre. But as soon as it saw the party, it comically hovered out of the shattered window as if pulled by a string.

Riki went from panicking to blustering. "Heropon scare away Dinobeast! Heropon too strong!"

"Pipe down, furball," Reyn muttered. "For all we know it's gathering friends."

"Then let's not waste time," Dunban said. "Melia, you lead the way."

"Of course." Moving quickly, Melia directed the group through the palace.

It was a surprisingly calm journey. While they certainly made sure their presence was known, not even the largest of the Telethia roaming around were interested in giving the group a hard time.

"They don't seem interested in fighting us," suggested Shulk. "Something is making them back off."

"I'd back off if I was them," said Fiora. "They're not stupid. How many of them have we killed already? Maybe by now they know they can't beat us."

"Look at how they're shufflin' around though." Reyn pointed at one particularly quick specimen. "Tryin' to get behind us, like they don't want nothin' to do with Melia at the front."

Suddenly, all the Telethia nearby hastily backed off an extra few paces. A moment later, Shulk reached for his weapon and actiavted it. "I'll cover our backs then."

The group continued moving along, taking a few alternate routes to avoid the largest clusters of enemies. One of these alternate routes led the party across an outdoor balcony around the back of the palace.

"Blimey, would you look at that one!" Reyn pointed out a particular Telethia soaring around far above them. It was one of the snake-like ones, and it seemed quite large - at least twice the size of any others of that type they had seen before. "Massive. It probably can't even fit inside!"

"Size of Dinobeast no matter! If Dinobeast want inside, it make door to fit!" Riki was doing surprisingly well at keeping his position in the moving group; normally he would flit around as he pleased.

"That must be Osmotic Benjamin," said Dunban. "If what Kula said is true, it grows as it mindlessly absorbs its bretheren."

Melia shuddered. It was bad enough that some Telethia had managed to retain the names of the people they used to be, and now they had found one that supposedly engaged in cannabalism. To be fair, science once believed that the different types of Telethia were part of a food chain, but recent events had shown otherwise - they didn't normally feed on each other.

Sharla estimated the beast's position with her scope. "It's too far away to see us, forget about it."

The party moved back inside and travelled along the upper corridors, which were surprisingly Telethia-free. It seemed like it took no time at all to finally reach Melia's chambers.

"Do you want us to stay out here, or come in with you?" Fiora asked.

Melia hesitated. She had been rigidly taught that her room was strictly off-limits to all but herself, the rest of the family, and guards and maintenance workers - and _especially_ off-limits to anyone that might be considered a suitor. But given the current state of affairs, she saw no reason to hold to such a rule. It would be nice to have a few friends in to at least remember the place by.

"You may enter."

The room was basically untouched from when she'd last seen it, with nothing but a cracked window and a slight coating of dust suggesting that anything had happened to the palace. Melia was filled with a strong desire to leap onto the bed, but there was no way the others would ever let her live it down.

"Looks like something tried to fly in here and failed," Shulk commented, looking towards the window. He was pretty much the only one not mesmerized by the sensation of walking into a princess's bedroom.

"Right." Dunban was the first to break the trance. "Since nothing's been bothering us, I'd say you have as much time as you want to pack. But we can only carry so many things, and dragging a bunch of heavy boxes with us will make us a more inviting target. I suggest that each of us only carry one thing."

"Of course." Melia disappeared into the wardrobe as the others stood around, half expecting something to barge through the door any moment and half gazing across the lavishly-decorated room, trying very hard to not touch anything.

_It's time to finally put these suitcases to work._ Activating the first suitcase's internal vacuum chamber, she began stuffing as many clothes as possible into it. Given the expansiveness of her wardrobe, she was surprised to find that she was able to fit well more than three-quarters of it inside, leaving out the most revealing getups. _That should be good. A bit extravagent perhaps, but as long as I don't find myself out of room for more important things, it shouldn't be a problem._

Melia sealed the suitcase and attempted to lift it, but completely failed; she wasn't able to lift even a corner off the ground. She resorted to pushing it with all her might, slowly scuffling it out of the closet.

Reyn quickly stepped over and bent down to grab the suitcase. "Don't worry, I got th-OOOF!" He had to reach down with his other arm to get it stood on its thin end. "What on Bionis is in this thing, your rock collection?"

Melia tried to laugh in order to release tension, but only managed a single quiet chuckle. "The motivation unit in this suitcase appears to be non-functional. Normally it halves the weight of the contents, but when not operating correctly, it adds its own considerable weight."

"I'll have a look." Shulk opened a side panel to reveal a bunch of glowing nodules and started fiddling around inside.

Returning to the closet, Melia reached into the deepest corner and picked up the Heir's Coffer, an ancient box of unknown material that contained the most sacred imperial treasures, its contents written in the private half of her father's will and a mandated secret from all but the empress. The container normally remained within a safe in the emperor's chambers, but with Melia having not yet made the move there, she was told to keep it hidden in her wardrobe, as quick access to it was considered slightly more important than total security. She considered whether it would be worth the space to keep it, or simply leave it here to fade with the rest of the empire - after a moment, she determined that she might need proof of her status in the future, and so placed it inside the second (fully functional) suitcase. Hiding the coffer's presence from the others, she then took the suitcase into the room proper and emptied the contents of her dresser into it, filling the gaps with various trinkets and keepsakes that were dotted around the room. She wasn't really thinking about what to keep and what to leave behind, just trying to stuff as much stuff into the case as she could without breaking anything.

With the second suitcase mostly full, she dashed into the bathroom and loaded as many supplies as she could fit into a handbag. She gazed longingly at the shower for a good minute - it had been so long since she'd had what she would consider a "proper wash" - before reminding herself that the water supply was probably cold, broken, or unsanitary, if not all of the above.

Coming back into the bedroom, Melia took the staff cleaning kit out of the Protect Staff case and squeezed it into the second suitcase; there was no need to keep the staff case itself. She looked around to see if anything else was important. She wanted to keep her dreamcatcher more than anything else, but it was inaccessibly hung from the ceiling and frankly had no hope against the new series of nightmares that filled her sleep. The orange Practice Staff that stood against the wall was of no use to her anymore, as there was no longer any need for her to practice her more dangerous arts in confined indoor spaces. The bookshelf was still completely filled, but the vast majority of the books were either easily replaceable or no longer applicable to the new state of the world. The bass guitar hung on the wall was far too unwieldy to be worth trying to carry through a danger zone, which was a bit disappointing to realize, as it had grown on her a fair bit in the past few years. The Chozo interface was of no value outside a healthy Alcamoth. She closed up the second suitacase and determined she was as ready to leave as she ever would be.

"Got it!" Shulk flipped the panel closed on the first suitcase, which Reyn then lifted with one arm. "Just needed a few contacts cleaned, we're good to go."

"Let us make haste," said Melia. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible; she could already feel a pang of fear and uncertainty.

The party started retracing their steps through the palace, with Reyn and Dunban carrying the suitcases and Sharla holding the handbag. The various Telethia they passed by certainly seemed more aggressive, picking up on how two of the group members were carrying large non-weapons, but still held back.

"Hold for a moment." Melia halted the group's advance for a few seconds while she considered something. "I do not wish for the Illustrious Alighting to attempt to return here, whether by intent or by accident. We should see what can be done about relocating its target of return."

"How would we do that?" asked Shulk.

Melia envisioned her vehicle's designated space in the palace hangar. She didn't pay much attention to it, but she did know that a white pyramid-shaped beacon with a glassy ball on top sat in one of the back corners. "I believe there is a beacon that acts as the vessel's home point. It should be simple enough to take it with us."

The rest of the party agreed and followed her as she led them down a new series of corridors towards the hangar. It was completely empty, presumably with all the vehicles taken by survivors, if not turned into Telethia.

Once they reached the space with the Illustrious Alighting's name painted on the floor, Melia pointed out the beacon, sitting exactly where she believed it to be. "Here it is."

"I can carry it." Fiora bent down and tilted the beacon onto its side, picking it up without much difficulty.

"And I'll carry this." Shulk had gone over to a workbench not far away and picked up a thick white book with an image of the craft on the cover. "Looks like an owner's manual. Should be useful."

Melia nodded at the two. "Thank you." _I was unaware the craft had a manual, given that it is one-of-a-kind. Surely it must document features that I am unaware exist. I should read it at the next available opportunity._

A thought occurred to Dunban. "Perhaps we should also stop by the treasury? This may very well be our last visit here, and we shouldn't let a useful resource go to waste."

Melia considered the idea. With the state of the world now, with no economy to worry about and potentially no way to return in the future, she realized that she might as well try to take as much money as they could carry. She would have to hide it well, but there were a few good candidate locations, most notably the Regeneration Chamber near Colony 9 that only she could access.

"That is a good suggestion. Let's carry it out." Once she had acknowledgement from the others, she led them through another series of corridors through the abandoned palace.

The treasury was not much more than a series of vaults. Normally under constant armed guard and populated by stern-faced tellers and economists, being inside the empty room was even eerier than the rest of the palace. Melia tried not to think about what had happened to all the employees as she collected a large sack from behind the counter and stepped towards the first vault in the line, which acknowledged empress clearance and opened to reveal a boundless array of high-denomination coins and bills. Several of the others gasped.

_Gems are useful, but most have little intrinsic value, and the best ones were likely in use during the invasion of Mechonis instead of being kept here,_ she thought as she started piling money into the bag. _As a commodity, gold is the most universal resource there is. But banknotes are not to be ignored, as they are more efficient in volume and mass, and there are well enough survivors that their legitimacy as currency should be preserved._ She felt distinctly like a bank robber, despite knowing it was basically already her own money.

Securely tying the overstuffed bag closed, Melia tried lifting it and failed miserably. _Maybe I went a bit overboard. I estimate this to be over 150 million G, enough to rebuild Colony 6 seventy-five times over. Surely there's no way I can blow though that much money before-_

"Heropon Riki will carry Melly's riches!" Grabbing the bag with all four arms, Riki successfully got the sack over his head after much exertion. "No amount of riches are match for Heropon! Riki may need push to get going though."

Reyn gave Riki a kick in the backside, which started him moving forwards at walking speed, able to turn but unable to stop. The rest of the party started heading back to the palace's transport centre as Melia closed the safe. It seemed like there were fewer Telethia in the way than earlier, but despite seeing that six of the seven were now emburdened, they were still not committed to attacking. It almost felt like a trap, aside from the fact that the creatures weren't quite intelligent enough to grasp the concept of traps.

Upon transporting back up onto the Imperial Pinnacle, watching her friends carrying all her things towards her ship in front of her, it finally truly hit Melia that she probably wouldn't be coming back to Alcamoth in years, if ever. A lump began to form in her throat.

Reyn was the first to hop up onto the Illustrious Alighting and unload his suitcase. "That wasn't so bad, but the dreary atmosphere here is killing me. Let's vamoose."

There was murmured assent from the rest of the group as they all boarded with their cargo. It was a bit of a tight fit, but the containment field would ensure that nothing would be lost overboard.

Now almost dragging her feet, Melia slowly marched towards her ship, trying to hold back the tears. The others let her take her time.

A great roar filled the sky. Everyone looked up to see Osmotic Benjamin, the giant snake-like Telethia seen earlier, at least thirty metres long and descending quickly.

Melia was slow to realize the threat. By the time she started dashing towards her craft, a green hemispherical barrier appeared, surrounding the fountain in the centre of the spire and cutting off her access to the ship and the transport pads. The others immediately leapt back onto the ground and started circling the barrier, trying to form some sort of battle plan, but Melia couldn't hear a thing they were saying - the barrier was apparently soundproof.

The Telethia phased through the etheral wall and took up a position across the fountain from Melia, glaring at her.

_Of course we couldn't get through this task without a fight._ Melia stared down the creature, still trying to shift her mindset from gloomy departure to combat-ready. It didn't seem to want to make the first move.

"Osmotic Benjamin, scourge of Telethia and Homs alike! We will take down your mutilated body and free your soul!" She always made a variant of this speech when fighting prominent or named Telethia. It made her feel slightly better about killing her own subjects.

The reaction was completely unexpected though - the Telethia gave off a series of short roars that sounded vaguely like barks.

_Is...is it...laughing at me?_ This was a new and disturbing development; every Telethia they had fought before had animalistic intelligence and no understanding of language. _Perhaps its absorption of other Telethia has boosted its intelligence as well as its size. Its threat level has probably also risen to match...The number one priority is to down this barrier so I do not have to fight alone, but I may not be able to do that unless I incapacitate the beast somehow.  
_

The enemy finally made the first move: a large but heavily-telegraphed ball of energy that moved in a straight line. It was trivial for Melia to dodge it, but once she did, it sped up, passed through the barrier, and headed straight for Sharla, knocking her over. It quickly fired another one, which was also easily dodged but proceeded to hit Riki. Feeling guilty, Melia passed Sharla a Healing Gift that also flew through the barrier without issue, followed by summoning an aqua and using Power Effect to ensure its effects were spread to everyone.

_If this barrier is permeable to ether energy, then-_

A Thunder Bullet and Monado Purge both deflected off the etheral wall and into the sky, proving that arts could only pass through it in one direction. The Telethia continued to fire its energy ball attack, forcing Melia to dodge and allow it to hit her friends. She had to repeatedly use her healing and aura arts to reverse the damage. Shuffling around so much vitality in a short time was a mentally trying exercise.

_I can dodge this art with no effort, but I can't allow the others to continually take the blows. I need to try something else._

The next time the ball of energy approached her, she stood firm and tried to intercept it with a bolt. But the two attacks simply passed through each other, and she was forced to dodge again, allowing the ball to attack Reyn. He bashed the attack with his shield, causing it to bounce back into the barrier and fizzle.

Melia took the unspoken advice. With another energy ball headed her way, she waited until the last possible moment and slapped it with her staff as if it were a tennis ball, deflecting it directly back into Osmotic Benjamin's face. The creature roared and fired three more balls of energy in quick succession, all of which Melia smacked back into it. As if desperate, the enemy then shot a total of ten balls all at once in different directions, all converging on her at once - but this time she was ready with Reflection, deftly redirecting every single projectile back at their originator.

_Why didn't I use Reflection in the first place? I suppose I am conditioned to save it for significant moments, as opposed to using it as much as possible. That is not a bad thing; it is best used as a surprise.  
_

The Telethia decided to move on to a new strategy: leap at its prey with a body-slamming attack. It turned out to not be very effective; Melia quickly summoned a wind to allow her to get out of the way and jump over the shockwaves, firing bolts and flares between each leap. She even snuck in a Hypnotise once or twice when she needed a break, which to her surprise was quite effective at first, but quickly stopped being worth the attempt.

_This is a rather strange thing for a Telethia to be doing. It doesn't even seem to be using its telepathy to predict my movements. But it's still going to take far too long to bring down if I remain the only attacker._

The beast changed its tactics again, radiating waves of immense heat from its body. Melia surrounded herself with two ices to avoid heat stroke and pelted it with aquas, scoring critical damage with every strike. After about half a minute, it loosed a large fireball from its mouth, which Melia blocked by discharging one of her ices.

Before it could launch its next attack, the Telethia roared in pain for no immediately apparent reason. Melia looked past it to see that its tail had stuck out of the far side of the ether barrier, and Shulk had given it a Back Slash. In response, the creature gave Shulk a forceful kick with its tail, sending him flying across the spire and just over the near edge.

"SHULK!" Melia reflexively screamed. She ran towards his direction as far as she could and pressed her face against the barrier, seeing no trace of him. Normally he would have been caught by the safety field, but it very well could have fallen into disrepair by now, given how the pinnacle was under no weather-shielding. She thought there might be one or two edges below that could possibly be hung onto, but she wasn't at all certain. As far as she could tell, her best friend had just been launched to his death.

While the rest of the party ran over to peer over the edge, she turned back to the monster, with golden energy cascading out of her eyes.

" _ **YOU GROTTY QUIM!**_ "

Her burst aura exploding into being, Melia gripped the Empress Staff harder than ever before and launched her remaining ice elemental at the Telethia, which tore through the air at breakneck speed leaving a trail of snowflakes in its wake, detonating directly on the monster's left eye and filling it with icy shards. She followed the unexpected attack by linking together Burst End and Mind Blast, buffeting the enemy with immense damage.

Osmotic Benjamin continued its list of unusual strategies, beginning to channel mass quantities of lightning with its fins. Melia linked three earth elementals together and used them to ground the creature, draining it of its charge before it could fire, before loosing them to inject significant quantities of poison. It attacked with its jaws, but she moved out of the way and applied Shadow Stitch to stop it from following. Once it was freed from the trapping dark ether, it produced a large quantity of thick clouds to obscure its position, but they were quickly blown away by discharged winds. All the while, she unloaded a variety of elementals into its hide. It seemed that Melia had an answer to every trick it could pull - almost like everything the enemy was doing was tailored to her exact skill set.

_A vision!  
_

/_Osmotic Benjamin‾/ /_Polychromatic Assault X‾/ /_Melia‾/ /_10365‾/

/_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾_‾/ /_‾_12‾_‾/

Melia saw a yellow flash from outside the barrier. Glancing at the source, she saw that Shulk had returned from the edge and covered the party with Monado Shield, surrounding everyone but her in a golden sphere.

Putting aside the relief of Shulk's survival for a moment, she started thinking quickly. _That can only mean one thing: a talent art of extreme damage is incoming in about eight seconds._ She raised three ice elementals to defend against what was surely an ether art, but she couldn't assume it would be enough. _Talent arts can't be reflected. Hypnotise has been gradually less effective. I can't daze it, but maybe..._ She knew that most flying creatures could not be toppled, but it felt like her only chance.

Melia dashed towards Osmotic Benjamin, which was hovering low to the ground and seemed to be charging an attack inside its mouth, and jabbed it at the base of one of its fins with Spear Break. Leaping back, she followed it up with Starlight Kick, scoring a critical hit and sending the Telethia into a series of aerial rolls before landing on the ground upside-down.

The barrier around the battle finally shattered, breaking into a million pieces that faded into whisps. The rest of the party bellowed as they ran in to join the fight, pounding the helpless creature with a variety of attacks.

Melia finally had the opportunity to take a breather, simply allowing some idle elementals to boost the group's attack power. It occurred to her that this was the first time in her life she had legitimately swore, out loud or otherwise, aside from tactfully asking what a word might mean. Yet despite it being one of the most egregious profanities she knew, and having promised to herself over and over that she would keep her speech clean for all time, she was forced to realize that she had no regrets whatsoever about this one incident. There could be no clearer indication of how important Shulk was to her.

After a few minutes of flopping around on the ground, Osmotic Benjamin finally lifted back into the air. But instead of proceeding to return fire, it regurgitated something solid and rectangular into the fountain and shot up into the sky. After it became a tiny dot in the distance, it exploded into a multicoloured display of gaseous ether.

A voiceless phrase in Hightongue pierced into Melia's mind. _Exalted empress...I acknowledge your mastery. Go forth and defy the universe itself!_

Riki turned his head quizzically. "Hm? Riki thought he heard a thought speaking, but full of funny words that Riki not understand. Did Melly hear it?"

Still blanketed in adrenaline and her burst aura, Melia considered for a moment what to say. "I did indeed perceive a message, but its meaning is...obscure at best. I cannot explain it as anything but a general vote of confidence at the moment." She slowly started to wind herself down.

Shulk had rolled up his sleeves and was fishing in the fountain for whatever the beast had expunged, the water having washed off all the gunk it was previously covered in. After a moment, he pulled out something that looked very much like the black staff case that Melia had chosen to leave behind in her room, except coloured a royal purple with silver trim. "Looks like another staff. We don't usually find them in cases though."

"Intriguing." Melia took hold of the case and opened it up, expecting to find another Meteor Staff or Century Staff - fine weapons, but they paled in comparison to the Empress Staff she currently held.

The staff inside was visually indistinguishable from her first staff, the Protect Staff, with the obvious exception of lacking minor battle damage. She plucked it out of the felt interior and instantly felt a strange sort of kinship, like she had owned it her whole life, or like it would refuse to function for anyone else. Spying a small slip of paper in the box, she snatched it up and read it.

_**CRAFT ORDER** \- Mr. Karl Swiddle_

_Subject: Ether staff_

_Requested raw materials:_  
_Bloodstone, 1 (see notes)  
Scupperwood, 2.0m x 0.5m x 0.25m_

_Notes: There is nothing wrong with the Protect Staff you have crafted for Princess Melia, but I think it is time to make a staff for Empress Melia. Please ensure that the Bloodstone acquired is of the absolute highest quality available (I think Prince Kallian will cover the costs if necessary), and then come see me - the imperial Seer has provided me with a substantial amount of Lady Melia's own blood with which to prime it, collected in secret from the day of her assassination attempt in the training rooms, saved in the hope that this very order would later be made. Should we lack the necessary amount we shall have to consider another option. P.S. I have met with Prince Kallian, and he has agreed to reimburse for the Bloodstone. He has also suggested this be named the "Hope Staff". I see no reason to disagree.  
_

_Signed: Ben Reddel  
_

Melia's eyes darted back and forth between the paper and the staff. Bloodstones were one of the rarest possible staff cores, and had fallen out of favour in modern times as they had no power until saturated with a large quantity of a sentient's blood. They tended to function best with passionate users, especially the one whose blood they were primed with. It stood to reason that this would be the most powerful staff she had held thus far.

At the same time, it sunk in that the Telethia she had just defeated was almost certainly that of her ether staff instructor. The battle had served as her final exam, forcing her to utilize every art she knew to its fullest potential, including the demonstration of Spear Break leading to a topple. It occurred to her that she never had the chance to tell him she had discovered the power of Starlight Kick. It must have been the shock of her success that tickled his consciousness out of the mindless creature's grasp, perhaps in combination with the speeding ice elemental she had unleashed in rage, defying all known laws of physics.

"Uh oh." Reyn looked into the distance. "We got a problem."

Several Telethia were beginning to rise up to the level of the Imperial Pinnacle. They were still quite distant, but they were on their way.

"We must leave immediately." Melia replaced the Hope Staff back into its case and boarded the Illustrious Alighting, everyone else right behind her. With her friends and possessions all crammed onboard, she lifted off and began trying to manoeuvre towards Colony 9.

Things turned hairy very quickly. Telethia were filling the sky like a swarm of bugs, coming out of seemingly every nook and cranny of Alcamoth to block her path earthwards. It would not be long before all paths led to a Telethia.

"Far too many to fight, but letting them pursue will simply bring them with us to wherever we go." Dunban surveyed the landscape. "Any ideas?"

Melia pointed to the owner's manual that Shulk had placed on the floor. "I cannot read and pilot through these circumstances at the same time. Shulk, see if you can find anything of use in the manual."

"Okay." Shulk picked up the book and flipped to the table of contents. He could read the Erythscript it was printed in, though slowly.

"So what do we do while we wait for him to find something?" Sharla asked.

Before anyone could respond, an unseen Telethia from the port side fired a beam of ether that cut across the Illustrious Alighting's engines. The impact delivered quite a jolt to the ship and its occupants, knocking Riki off his seat and causing the Hope Staff's case to jam Reyn in the elbow. The screen flashed yellow and displayed a message: _Warning: High-frequency engine coils misaligned. Speeds of above 100 km/h unavailable. Estimated completion of auto-repair: 12 minutes_

Melia looked through the swarm of Telethia. Some of the smaller ones were beginning to charge, breaking out of the crowd and ready to attack.

"We fly."

Setting the speed multiplier as high as the damaged engines could go, she floored it and aimed straight between the nearest two Telethia. Only able to read her intent to manipulate the controls, they could not make the connection to predicting the ship's movements, causing them to clumsily turn around as she passed through the space. She continued to spin in place and shoot the gap between pairs of enemies, staying above the largest mass down below while ensuring that those close enough to chase were too disoriented to accomplish anything. It didn't take long for some Telethia to decide to open fire, shooting blasts of ether of all description across the sky, but Melia continued to jolt the craft in various directions and thwart their efforts. In her opinion, she was still an inexperienced pilot that needed several more months of practice to be considered reliable, as shown by her evasive manoeuvres being jerky straight-spin-straight motions, and had considered undergoing some official training in Alcamoth before everything went wrong. But it was clear from her ferrying the party around the world that she had a natural skill at controlling her vessel around the sky.

After two or three minutes of dodging, Shulk finally spoke up. "I think I found something. There's a button on the right underside of the dashboard under a safety cover."

Without waiting to hear the rest, Melia felt around underneath the dashboard until she found a cover. She opened it and pressed the button hidden inside.

An elliptical blue shield appeared around the Illustrious Alighting as the display turned orange. "Combat Mode" hung in the top-left corner, with the engine coil warning now part of a list of two.

Melia read aloud the second warning that had appeared. "Weapons system not installed."

"Uh...I'll keep reading." Shulk was furiously scanning through the pages.

Melia allowed a smaller ether shot to hit the newly-risen shield to test its effectiveness. It collided with a satisfying "plonk" and no recoil to speak of. The shield percentage on the display dropped from 100.0% to 97.6%, which some quick mental math converted into about forty such hits.

"Okay I got it." Shulk pointed to a nondescript hole in the floor just behind the pilot seat. "Stick a staff in there."

Allowing the shield to absorb a few hits while the ship was sitting still, Melia took the Empress Staff from her belt, extended it, and placed it upright into the hole. Once it was in place, a pair of clamps extended from the seat to lock it in.

A curious feeling came over Melia's body. Now that her staff was connected to her ship, she could sense a new link between herself and the vessel, as if she had been plugged into its systems. She could feel the engines humming in her chest, the auto-repair systems clamouring for energy from the battery, and the shields' durability without having to look at the number on the display.

The screen displayed two progress bars. _Scanning staff...Empress Staff identified. Downloading viable arts...16 arts downloaded. Weapons system successfully installed._

A satisfying "ka-chunk" heralded the extension of two cannons from either side of the craft and a lance-like protrusion from the front. Melia felt two triggers pop out from the underside of the steering wheel as the display listed sixteen different arts for selection.

_* Ramming Thrust: Ramming charge attack. Inflicts potent knockback, slows target, and paralyses target._  
_* Midnight Backblast: Expels harmful engine byproducts. After Ramming Thrust, forces daze._  
_* Signal Jammer: Creates interference waves. Forces target into sleep mode and clears all its buffs._  
_* Imperial Eclipse: Deploys impermeable cloud of darkness. Binds and blinds all targets in range._  
_* Serenity's Blessing: Donates shield integrity to ally (potentially to above maximum)._  
_* Reliable Comerade: Duplicates all current buffs to all allies._  
_* Honest Rejection: Temporarily reflects all damage and status back to attacker._  
_* EMP: Reduces the offenses and defenses of all targets in range._  
_* System Overload: Seals arts and auras, and has a minor chance of instant long-lasting daze._  
_* Redoubled Passion: Utilizes stored auxiliary power to quickly re-use last-used art._  
_* Pinnacle Bolt: Discharges electrical energy. Raises ether strength on hit._  
_* Eternal Blaze: Detonates massive conflagration. Raises physical strength on hit._  
_* Oceanic Fury: Blasts target with hydraulic torrent. Raises shield integrity on hit (potentially to above maximum)._  
_* Hurricane Force: Fires blast of compressed air. Raises agility on hit._  
_* Regal Regolith: Pummels target with earthly force. Raises physical defence on hit._  
_* Reticence Ray: Targets foe with beam of absolute cold. Raises ether defence on hit._

Melia recognzied that the arts available were essentially powered-up versions of what she'd been using for the past several years, though with an interesting change: instead of elementals that provided temporary buffs until discharged for damage, they were direct attacks that provided more permanent buffs upon dealing damage. It was more straightforward, but would undoubtedly be confusing for a short time.

She moved her hand to tap the icon for Honest Rejection on the screen, but the system acted on her intent, turning the ship's solid blue shield into a complex hexagonal lattice for several seconds. All the ether attacks launched by the approaching Telethia bounced back to strike their originators, turning them away for a moment. The icon then turned dark and indicated how close it was to being usable again.

Ready to fire back, Melia spun the craft around to face the nearest foe and depressed the two triggers under the wheel. Magenta shots pulsed out of the two cannons and curved through the air to batter her target, which didn't take long to explode.

Now aware that their prey could retaliate, all the other Telethia raised the stakes, coming in with more speed and more attacks. But with the new connection between Melia and her vessel, her piloting confidence was much heightened, allowing her to fly around targets in circles, dodge attacks smoothly rather than joltingly, and perform evasive inversions that revealed the presence of an anti-gravity system, ensuring that nothing would fall from the floor even when suspended upside down. All the while, she continued to fire the cannons' basic shots, as well as trying out every one of the craft's new arts that didn't rely on having allies. The physical attack combo was effective at disabling single targets, but not very efficient for dealing with a sky full of foes. The status ether arts had immense range and lasted for quite a while. The damaging ether arts were blindingly bright and massively powerful, with System Overload obliterating scores of Telethia with one use, but had to take a very long time to recharge (though this could be dodged occasionally with Redoubled Passion). The elemental arts were every bit as effective as her personal ones, multiplied by an order of magnitude: a chilling ray that froze enemies solid, an earthly beam that brought a powerful toxin with it, a cutting jetstream that sliced through foes in a long line, a blast of water with immense knockback, a fiery explosion fifty metres in diameter, and a bolt of lightning that chained across several targets. The craft's basic weaponry by itself would stand little hope against such a crowd of enemies, allowing its shields to be quickly overwhelmed - it was the injection of Melia's arts that turned it into a one-ship armada.

Of course, not every attack could be dodged, shield power was not an infinite resource, and the only method of restoring it took just too long to recharge. When Melia looked through the mass of Telethia to estimate that she had cut through about a quarter of them, she only had about 20% shields remaining. She didn't need to kill every last Telethia to escape Eryth Sea - once the engines had full power again, she could just fly away far faster than they could follow. But with all the power she was drawing to fight with, the auto-repair had slowed down, and was now estimated to require 24 minutes.

Shulk had also recognized things were not going to end well if they didn't change, and continued to page through the manual looking for something useful, though he kept losing his spot whenever a major blast hit and shook things up. Eventually he found something promising.

"Is there a double gear icon on the screen?"

"There is." Melia had seen the two gears sitting in the centre of the sixteen art icons, but it didn't seem to do anything when tapped, and it had no description visible. Now that she looked closer, though, she noticed that the front gear had a small 86% inside, while the back gear had a radial gradient that suggested similar.

"Okay, so that's basically your talent gauge. Fill it up by doing things."

"Understood." Eschewing waiting for a perfect opportunity for each one, Melia quickly fired every art that was available. The central number rose as each attack landed, finally reaching 100%. "Now what?"

"Activate it. It'll overclock all systems."

Melia tapped the icon, which lit up as the gears began spinning and "OVERDRIVE ACTIVE" appeared above it. She could feel a surge of energy flow through the ship must like her burst aura, providing masses of additional power to all its components. The engine auto-repair estimate shot down to 3 minutes.

From there, the Illustrious Alighting's true power was unleashed. Each shot fired from its cannons homed in to a Telethia to destroy it in a single hit of brilliant magenta light. Every art launched dealt incredible damage to every target within its range, casting shadows across the abandoned city below, only to be ready again in short order. The shields held fast with heightened resistance to damage and slowly regained power by themselves as time went on. Melia had to start going after foes instead of letting them come to her, pulling off manoeuvres with even more precision and finesse.

Just as the craft's overdrive ran out of power, the Telethia finally decided they'd had enough. With half of their numbers wiped out, the survivors began filing back into the recesses of Alcamoth. In no time at all, the skies were clear once more.

The party was generally speechless from witnessing the massive dogfight. Even Riki couldn't figure out any words to say, though he did begin dancing in his seat.

Reyn was the first to find his voice. "Well, um...t- _that_ was...uh, sure something. Where was all that power earlier? We coulda blasted through so many battles easy with this thing!"

Melia had an answer quickly. "We simply did not know this ship was capable in battle. Besides, imagine the collateral damage that could be caused if we were not so high in the air. I would never fire such weapons at ground level."

"It is indeed a shame, but it can't be helped," Dunban responded. "What matters is that we had what we needed at the right time."

The engines completed their repairs, stating so on the display. Without waiting for anyone else's comments, Melia fired them up to top speed and set course for Colony 9. The thought entered her mind that Alcamoth might be a fair bit safer now that she'd eliminated half the Telethia population, but she'd made her decision, and now was not the time to be revisiting it.

"So if this ship's weapons are so strong," suggested Sharla, "do we still need the help of Junks to get into the Bionis' chest?"

"Yes, we do," Melia replied. "It would be improper to turn down the offer. In addition, Junks can reach the area were are aiming for without firing weapons to clear a path. I do not wish to discharge the amount of energy we have seen inside a cramped space of the Bionis. Once Junks has cleared the way, then yes, I can pilot back and forth without issue."

Shulk still had his nose in the manual, now purely out of his own interest. "So this thing uses a six-crystal balance to provide proper resonance to the engine coils? Wow, I thought three of equal therm was the best resonance you could get. Even just four might stop the Defence Force carriers from losing balance if an engine cuts out. I guess we'd need two of one therm and two of the other-"

Fiora playfully prodded Shulk in the arm. "Oh give it a rest, you big gearhead."

Riki finally managed to unblock his speechlessness. "Melly prove skills in air! Melly best swooshzoom pilot ever, and with shootpow skiils as well! Riki commission song about big sky battle when friends next in Frontier Village! Can go there soon?"

"Perhaps once we unload my effects." Melia considered where she was going to put all her stuff. "On that note, I must admit I am at a loss as to where it can be stored. I do not wish to take up space in Colony 6 from the refugees who need it more, Fiora's room is already quite cramped, the Weapons Development Lab is not a private area, and the Regeneration Chamber is quite out of the way for anything that needs easy access. And of course nothing can be left aboard the vessel if we wish to continue using it."

Fiora shook her head. "Don't be silly, Melia, I have enough room for some suitcases and bags. Besides, wouldn't you hate to have to leave the house just to get changed?"

Melia reluctantly nodded. "Yes, I suppose that is true." She didn't want to turn down the hospitality, but she also strongly felt like she was overstaying her welcome in Fiora's room. After all, she hadn't slept in the same room as someone else since she was a baby, which she couldn't even remember - sharing a foreign room with two others caused her to lose at least half an hour of sleep to anxiety every night, and at least double that on nights where Fiora's body acted up. It was a problem of her own doing, of course. When the party had originally decided to make Dunban's house their headquarters, Dunban had offered Melia the unoccupied master bedroom to herself, and Fiora had independently made the same offer once she realized what the situation was. She felt she had no choice but to decline; she knew the feeling of a parent's empty room, and couldn't dream of disturbing someone else's such memories just for her own selfish desire to sleep alone.

As the ship descended, Alcamoth vanished over the edge of Eryth Sea. There was a fair chance they would see it again, should they need to return to the area, but watching it go filled Melia with an all-too-familiar sense of loss. Even though she had just collected her most important possessions, it still felt like the last remnant of her old life had vanished. Her family was gone, her dwelling was gone, the people and empire she was supposed to rule were gone. Really the only things she had left were her memories and her arts.

She often wondered how much of a coincidence it was that she had selected the ether staff as her weapon, only to eventually be the one to take the Imperial Staff and use it in combat for the first time since its rumoured creation alongside the empire's foundation - and mere weeks before its collapse. It was a choice she made without input from anyone else, and while it may not have been a difficult decision, she happened to select the one that gave her the best chance in future trials.

Now piloting almost subconsciously, it got her thinking. What would have happened if she had selected a different weapon of choice all those years ago? The most likely candidate, the revolver, came to mind. Assuming she found a similar level of success, she would have had a much easier time taking down the assassin in the training room. Taking care of the Bunnit infestation would have gone about the same. She might not have been sent to trade with the Mechon, at least not with weapons in hand. Probably the first true stumbling block would be being captured by the Diamonts Syndicate; she likely wouldn't have been able to summon her guns into her hands the same way she could a staff. But by the same token, if the public knew she was a sharpshooter, events might have progressed altogether differently. The biggest diversion from known history would be with Telethia; without Mind Blast she would never have been chosen to go kill the one in the forest, and never have met Shulk and the others until they came upon Alcamoth by themselves. She would still have been put through the Trial of the Tomb if her father still knew what was about to happen, but with no reason to allow her to join the party, Colony 6 would still be a mess, and Zanza would have had his way easily.

_As much as luck has played a part in my life, skill is far more important. If I did not have such exceptional ether affinity, things would have proceeded so differently that Zanza surely would have succeeded in his plans to destroy the world once more. The six others aboard this craft are of the same way - every one of us has channelled our unique skills to save the lives of the others enough times that no other group of seven could have reached even this milestone of success. It would be terrible to consider the possibility that not even such a convergence of luck and skill could accomplish our ultimate goal of stopping this crazed being._

_Just as with today, we shall need every one of my arts to succeed._


	29. Epilogue

Melia removed her rubber gloves with relief and satisfaction, carefully making sure that their exteriors did not come into contact with her normal gloves underneath. It might have taken a few hours, but cleaning the kitchen and bathroom wasn't as hard as it initially seemed to be. It helped that she tried to keep everything clean from the start; if she had allowed the muck and gunk to build up over the past few months, it would certainly be much more of a pain. She naturally didn't like having to do such chores, and she probably could have found a way to get Fiora to do it or at least help (under the premise of "I've never done this before, can you teach me?"), but there was a certain pleasure obtained from demonstrating she had the skills to live alone successfully. Since she had moved into the house that Riki had had built for her, she had taught herself how to vacuum carpet, clean windows, unblock the toilet, and now wash floors and scrub every surface in the two tiled rooms.

With half of today's job done, she moved into the bedroom and took stock of the situation. She had been pretty good at keeping clutter to a minimum, the bedsheets had already been washed and were in the dryer, the windows had been washed and drapes had been beat yesterday, and the only thing she had ever spilled was tears on the carpet. But one thing that could not be avoided was dust, and it was starting to show on all the objects that she didn't manipulate on a daily basis.

 _Should I open the windows? Are you supposed to dust with a breeze, or with calm air?_ The mid-September weather outside was pushing a cool breeze around that helped get rid of the smell of the cleaning chemicals used in the bathroom and kitchen, but trying to dust in the wind might be an issue. She decided that leaving the windows closed would be the correct course of action, only opening them once it was time to vacuum.

Melia proceeded around the room, dislodging everything present to dust all sides with a disposable blue cloth. It was a process that effectively refreshed her memory of everything she owned, something that had never really occurred before; with no obligation to clean her chambers in the palace, she simply left everything where it belonged unless she used it, causing some things to sink out of conscious recognition.

As she neared the completion of the job, she came upon something she had almost forgotten about: her travel pouch, sitting on a shelf behind a row of books. Ever since the party's adventure had concluded, she had no need to carry it around all the time, leaving it unused for several months. After dusting off the tiny bag, she dumped its contents onto her desk. The miniature bathroom implements were still there, almost unused since she had taken the full-sized versions from her chambers in Alcamoth. So was the sleeping bag, ready to be unfurled but unlikely to ever be again, unless she decided to go camping or stay over at someone's house for some reason. Finally, the remote to the Illustrious Alighting remained.

She picked up the remote with a twinge of interest. She had assumed that her ship had not survived into the new world, given that she was forced to leave it inside the Bionis' heart as the group pieced together the five Veritas Glyphs to unlock the way to Prison Island; it was not capable of self-navigating without direct access to open sky (or reasonably close enough), and the home point's beacon was never found in the new world. But what if it _did_ survive? Stranger things had happened; the day after Melia's house was revealed to her, Alvis had brought a High Entia transport full of books into the new world to try and reduce the amount of lost knowledge. It was worth a shot.

Melia continued to dust and vacuum her bedroom and closet, followed by taking the bedsheets out of the dryer and replacing them where they belonged. Once everything in the house was cleaned to her satisfaction, she stepped outside with the Illustrious Alighting's remote in one hand and a book in the other. She debated over using the location function to see if she could pick up a signal before summoning the craft, but to an extent she felt like that would spoil the surprise, so she decided to only resort to it if nothing happened for a long while. Holding the remote aloft, she pressed the summon button and held it for three seconds.

She didn't expect the ship to show up immediately; after all, the Nopon mapmakers had covered quite a bit of land and would have found it already if it was anywhere remotely close. So while waiting to see if anything would happen, she sat in the chair on the porch and opened up the book. It was a three-year old piece of Homs speculative fiction called _They Came from Beyond the Sky!_ , involving a trio of Homs being abducted by High Entia and placed in a zoo. She found an odd sort of humour in reading the genre, in seeing the various depictions of High Entia that the Homs of the time could only guess at. This particular interpretation was quite amusing - they were depicted as having a total of six wings, with two on their heads, two on their backs, and two instead of arms, leaving them with talon-like appendages on their legs.

Melia stopped paying attention to time once she started reading. But eventually, she heard it, and quickly looked up - the Illustrious Alighting floated down from the sky and landed in front of the house, looking as pristine as ever.

Excited, Melia put the book down and stepped towards the craft before realizing that the deck wasn't empty. In fact, it had a few things aboard that she thought had also been lost in the old world. A wave of relief and nostalgia washed over her.

The first thing she went for was the huge bag of money she had extracted from the imperial treasury. She had last left it in the Regeneration Chamber near Colony 9 for safekeeping, but the chamber was also never found in the new world, and she was forced to assume the money had also been lost. Opening all the doors in her path beforehand, she tugged at the massive sack until it fell off the deck into her arms, pinning her to the ground. It was twice as heavy as she was. After spending a few minutes getting herself free, she began rolling the bag inside. Eventually, and after much effort, it was stashed safely in the corner of her closet. She had never really considered that she would ever run out of money, given that as the empress of a race she had an unlimited number of favours to turn in, but it was still a relief to be over 150 million G richer in cold hard cash. For now, she would keep it a secret.

Next, she took hold of the unique bass guitar, propped up in the pilot's seat, and played a few notes. She once considered buying one to replace it simply so she could continue to mess around with music, but decided not to for reasons she couldn't currently remember - probably something about being too frivolous, despite the others constantly yammering at her that "you need to treat yourself once in a while". She placed it in a corner of her bedroom, determined to come up with a better storage method later.

She considered dislodging the Empress Staff still placed behind the pilot's seat, acting as the catalyst of the ship's weapon systems, but she had no real need to. The Imperial Staff was residing at the headquarters of the New Alcamoth project, and both the Protect Staff and Hope Staff remained in her possession. There was no reason to take yet another staff and potentially render the craft defenseless once more.

Finally, the Chozo interface was placed on one of the passenger seats. Melia eyed it with a mix of curiosity and sadness; it had no practical use anymore, and did nothing but bring back memories of the old Alcamoth. _Perhaps I should donate this to the New Alcamoth infrastructure team. I'm sure they can find a use for it, if not simple inspiration._ She brought the item inside and put it at the front of her desk as a reminder to do something with it later.

With the surprise gifts dealt with, Melia realized that the home beacon was not present. _Either it no longer has a home point, or the beacon is elsewhere in the world, likely wherever the craft was stationed before now. I should find it._

She stepped onboard, settled into the pilot's seat, and pressed the return button on the remote. The Illustrious Alighting rose above the cliffs and began travelling due south at average speed.

Melia considered raising the auto-pilot speed to get to the unknown destination faster, but she found that she wanted to just sit and enjoy the ride. Having remained grounded for a few months now, the sight of the landscape passing by beneath her was a refreshing experience. But before long, it also began triggering a bunch of memories. Searching for a Telethia in the forest, half-expecting to die that day and almost succeeding were it not for the arrival of four people to replace the ones she lost. Preparing the land for the Colony 6 refugees to return, moments after taking the wheel for the first time against her best judgement for no reason but altruism. Ferrying people and objects across the world, helping to reconstruct a world that had been thrown into chaos by a lost man trying to outsmart a delusional god. Departing Alcamoth for the final time, sadly gathering all her possessions together before fighting her transformed instructor to prove her mastery of ether, and taking on an entire race of former kin with a single vessel. It wasn't like she hadn't gone over these and other such memories before, but of course the nature of memories is that they become ever more entrenched as they are relived.

Eventually, an older memory of flight resurfaced: racing through Colony 7 to evacuate survivors of the Mechon attack. She wondered if the remnants of the colony existed in the new world, and if so where. All the occupied settlements were positioned somewhat similar to their locations on the Bionis - one had to go east through a series of tunnels and a vast plain to go from Colony 9 to Colony 6, for example. If the same rules held for all major landmarks, regardless of whether people lived there, Colony 7's wreckage would be somewhere far to the southeast.

As she pondered the issue, something that she had pretty much completely forgotten about arose from the depths of her consciousness. She could see a young Alvis staring her in the eyes, speaking with a quiet yet serious tone.

_"This one boy will, one day, be worth more than all the other survivors combined."_

Melia hadn't even considered the words since they had been spoken. _What did Alvis mean by that remark? I do recall thinking that he only suggested the rescue mission for that one boy, but whatever happened to him?_ The boy's image appeared in her mind, or at least as close as she could get; it was probably inaccurate due to not having thought about him for several decades. _If he was indeed as important as Alvis claimed, he must have become some figure of high status in the Homs world. Perhaps a high-ranked commander in the defence force? What would he look like right now?_

She attempted to conceive of what the three-to-six year old face might look like as a young adult. To her great annoyance, she couldn't come up with a face without her mind immediately turning it into Shulk's. In fact, it occurred to her that the similarity between Shulk and the boy was quite uncanny.

 _That...that boy couldn't have..._ been _Shulk...could he?_

She strained her mind to try and recall the entire Colony 7 storyline. After an ill-fated pre-emptive strike against their base in the nearby tunnels, the Mechon had attacked, the rescue forces arrived, and the Homs were relocated to Makna Forest. Then someone - the boy's father - announced that he intended to go to Valak Mountain to search for a legendary weapon...

And they found a legendary weapon, the Monado, in Ose Tower. And Dickson appeared shortly afterward, finding no one left alive but Shulk...

Melia's mouth fell open as the connections were made. Alvis had sent her to rescue Shulk from Colony 7 so he could be present when the Monado was discovered by the Homs, ensuring that a specific person would be made into Zanza's vessel, thus leading to the only future that resulted in Zanza's defeat and the salvation of reality.

It was a bit insulting to realize that, even way back then, Alvis had been manipulating her life in secret. But then again, it was those manipulations that resulted in her and the rest of the world still existing. She wondered how much else he could have been controlling from behind the scenes. He could have inspired the Illustrious Alighting, or any one of the times her father had sent her on a mission, including the first Telethia. In fact, given his apparent affinity for the creatures, he could very well have sent the baby Telethia into her chambers to ensure she gained the correct experience. After all, they had discovered a Telethia genetics laboratory deep within the Tomb; from what they could tell, it wouldn't be hard at all to produce an infant hardwired to go to a specific location.

Changing train of thought a bit, she realized that this new insight meant she knew what Shulk's parents looked like, at least from a single superficial glance, and where he originally came from. She wondered if this was worth telling him, given that she couldn't do so without admitting she had met him all those years ago, and...and him telling her she had "a nice real face"...

She shook off the last part of the thought. _He's made it clear in the past that he wishes to know anything possible about his former family and home...Maybe one day, if it ever becomes appropriate to reveal that I made a secret visit down to the lower colonies, I'll tell him._

The Illustrious Alighting finally began slowing down and descending. Melia looked over the side to see that it was aiming toward a tiny, vaguely heart-shaped island in a large lake. About half the size as the hole in the cliffs Melia's house was in, the island was a mostly-flat patch of grass, with a beach on the west side and several deciduous trees on the south side. The vessel's home beacon was placed directly in the centre.

Once the landing was complete, Melia slowly disembarked and looked around. The island was untouched and pristine, far more isolated and inaccessible than anywhere else she'd been in this new world. She could basically make it her own private island, and no one else would find it for potentially years. But did she really need to? The area around her house was private enough, only accessible through a lockable tunnel or a disableable transporter, and to have property so far away from everything else that currently existed seemed rather pointless. But at the same time, it was an attractive kind of secret to have, and it would serve well as a place to hide her vessel for the moment - she wasn't yet sure if she wanted knowledge of its return to be public, and keeping it in the clearing where she lived would not be a good way to keep it unseen. After all, she didn't really need its services the way things were right now - transporters connected all the settlements, and she had no business wandering in the wilderness by herself.

She explored around the island. The beach on the west was rather shallow; the water looked to become waist-deep quickly enough, but it appeared to stay there for quite a ways outwards. The north coast was the top of the heart shape, with no particularly interesting features. The east side was the flattest part of the grass and would be perfect for a picnic or small-field sport. The trees to the south didn't seem of a familiar species at first glance, as their leaves were already more orange than any other tree she'd seen in the new world, but after investigating the leaves closer she determined they were dytermaples.

As she wandered around beneath the trees, she saw an odd sight on the ground around one of the trunks: what looked to be a gravestone, broken into fragments by the tree that had sprouted directly underneath it. It looked to originally be a simple slab of stone placed flat on the ground, now split into five pieces and weathered far past legibility.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Melia bent down to brush the dirt off the fragments, trying to see if she could find any hint as to why there was a decades-old gravestone on an untouched island in a world only a few months old. It had to have some sort of purpose, planted in the universe's artificial history for some reason.

She didn't succeed. The stone was truly battered by the elements, too roughed up to find any trace of anything that had once been carved into it.

 _That's a shame. I can't help but feel something - or someone - important is here._ Melia looked back towards the centre of the island. The Illustrious Alighting had self-activated its stealth parking function, hiding itself and its beacon underneath a large holographic rock, ensuring it would be safe from anything if she wished to leave it there. _And it's difficult to believe this island was created merely as a hidden hangar. No, I'm investigating further before I depart.  
_

Melia returned to her ship and brought up a map onscreen. The island's vaguely heart-shaped coastline was even more obvious in the coloured diagram than in reality.

 _This island is a puzzle waiting to be solved,_ she decided. _Why did my ship begin its new existence here? Why is there an ancient gravestone here? Why is the island shaped like a heart beyond reasonable doubt? Wh-...wait._

The realization came quickly after that. She had last left her craft in the Bionis' heart, and it had appeared in the new world on a heart-shaped island. It wasn't in the expected geographical location, and it didn't explain how it came to be loaded with her missing possessions from various other places, but the connection was obvious.

 _That means..._ She slowly turned back towards the broken gravestone the south. Only two people had ever died in the Bionis' heart, and only one of them deserved to be honoured.

Melia quietly and deliberately returned to the tree that broke the gravestone and kneeled on the ground in front of it, her eyes going misty. _Of course, dytermaples, Brother's favourite tree. He would put so much of its syrup on his meals...sometimes it wouldn't even look like food anymore, just a massive pile of goop. To his own detriment, of course, when he inevitably lost track of his elbows. I never understood why he never got reprimanded for it, when I would get told off for spilling tiny amounts of salt on the table linens...  
_

The train of thought destabilized into a general feeling of grief, punctuated by a parade of the most impactful recent memories of Kallian: watching him snap an illegal rifle over his knee, fighting alongside him against a giant Hiln, conversing with him the day before leaving to fight the Telethia, accepting his blessing to join Shulk's party permanently, watching him attempt to sacrifice himself, and finally freeing him from Lorithia's clutches by means of death - followed by hearing his spirit's last words to her. It was nice to actually be able to cry in response to a death in private for once, kilometres away from any other sentient being. It felt like the tears had been welling up for months.

After watering the tree for quite some time, Melia did the only thing she could do with no staff in hand - she reached inside herself and pulled out a massive ball of vitality, depositing it into the soil while balanced on a knife-edge of not fainting.

_You did not die in vain, Brother._

Slowly recovering from her intentionally overdone usage of Healing Gift, Melia decided it was time to leave. She turned back towards the centre of the island and walked into the false stone that hid her ship.

She blinked a few times, presuming that she was seeing things. But no, it truly was Alvis standing beside the beacon in his typical not-a-care-in-the-world manner.

He smirked a bit. "Are you surprised to see me here, Your Majesty?"

"...To be perfectly honest, not really."

A quiet chuckle. "You undoubtedly have come to many realizations in the past short while. But it is certain that many more unknowns remain. As gratitude for your role in freeing this world from the overlording of Zanza, I offer one answer."

" _One_ answer?"

"It would not do to reveal every mystery of the universe, would it? Yes, one answer." He paused for a moment before heading off the first few things that came to her mind. "I have made the same offer to your friends. Some of them have taken it in order to put a burning question to rest, even if the response was not what they wished to hear, while others have let it pass, for each their own reasons. I may offer more answers in the future, or I may not. What matters at this moment is: Do you have a question?"

Melia stood and thought for several minutes, going over every question she'd ever had that remained unanswered, carefully considering every possibility she could think of. Eventually, she finally responded.

"Why me?"

Alvis tilted his head and raised an eyebrow to suggest he did not follow.

"Why me?" Melia intended to simply repeat herself until he answered, but ended up continuing, becoming more and more agitated with each syllable. "Why did these events only come to pass within _my_ lifetime, and not that of countless millenia of others? Why was _I_ gven the _perfect_ combination of attributes to _ensure_ that no other being could _possibly_ take my place? Why was _I selected out of all people in history to take on the burden of my entire species while I watched them become monsters? Why was **I** the only one to lose not only their entire family but also their **home** , **society** , and **purpose** in life?! Why am **I the one with the extended lifespan, seemingly to ensure that I amass the most suffering in life?! Why am I THE ONE DESTINED TO OUTLIVE ALL MY FRIENDS MANY TIMES OVER?! WHY ME?!**_"

There was dead silence for a moment. Alvis was no longer smiling, his face and pose completely stoic. Melia stared at him with the fury of her entire race, tears hanging in her eyes and electricity crackling around her fists.

After what felt like an hour of the two remaining completely motionless, the seer finally answered.

"Because you knew that none of the other six undestined souls could succeed in your place."

With that, Alvis walked southward and disappeared into the trees.

Melia wasn't sure what she expected to come of her outburst. But what Alvis said could not be more clear: somehow, somewhere, before any of this had begun, she was given the choice of being herself or any of her six companions - and she chose the most difficult path because she knew the others would fail were they in her place. It was a revelation of many facets - unnerving to think that everyone existed together in some way before birth, yet empowering to think that her sacrifice had saved them from a worse fate.

It was a bit much to take in for the moment. She delayed her thoughts about it a little bit by boarding the Illustrious Alighting and travelling back home at top speed, followed by sending the ship back to the heart-shaped island. But once her mind was free to consider it once again, to think about how the lives of her friends and the world at large had changed over the past several months, the inevitable conclusion was drawn.

_If it is my chosen lot in life to take on the suffering of others so they may find happiness..._

_...then their happiness is my own._


End file.
